Be grateful for what you have

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You ask and do not receive, because you ask amiss, that you may spend it on your pleasures.
  -James 4:3
Are you really jealous right now? Have you prayed for something but only your friends keep having what you’ve been praying for and you don’t get it? What are you jealous of? Are you jealous of your friend’s partner, the things that they have or their unique qualities that come so easily to them?

By this time, you already know that you can never have everything, I too don’t have everything. Often, we are tempted to desire the things that other people have. We then pray to God and ask Him to bless us with the same things He blessed our friends, neighbor or family member but our prayers don’t usually get answered. Why? It is because our motive for asking is wrong? Do we ask God for such things in order to show off to other people what we have?

Most of the time, we don’t get what we pray to God because our motive is wrong. Our motive is not aligned with the will of God and that is why He holds them off. And when we don’t get what we aske for, we usually get so frustrated, easily annoyed which then opens the door for jealousy.

So, what then? How do we deal with the jealousy in our hearts? The antidote for jealousy is gratitude. Look around you, what do you have? What good qualities do you have? What has God blessed you with? You become jealous of other people’s belongings because you no longer show gratitude for what you’ve been blessed with. Give thanks to God and appreciate the good qualities that you have, the things that God has blessed you with, the opportunities that you enjoy and even the state that you are in. When there is no gratitude in your heart, you give room to jealousy.

Secondly, pray for those who have what you don’t have. Pray that God may continue to bless them even more in various aspects of their lives. Also, pray for yourself. Pray that God may help you recognize the things He has blessed you with in your life and show gratitude for them. Also, pray that God helps you enjoy and share what you have.

I pray that you may recognize and give thanks to God for all that He has blessed you with. As you enjoy them, may you remember to share without showing them off. Be blessed!

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