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Hello everyone and welcome to episode 42, where Friday the 13th falls on a Wednesday this month. This 13th of November in the year of our Lord, 2019. I hope you\u2019re not superstitious; instead, this is a month to be most thankful.

Later this month, at Thanksgiving dinner, like a lot of families, we go around the table and everyone shares what they have been thankful for this year. The expressions of gratitude are usually the same: for family, good health, prayers that have been answered, and maybe one or two events from the past year.

It\u2019s always good to re-affirm blessings like these. They\u2019re the good things of life that deserve to be acknowledged. But what about the not-so-good things? Is it possible to be grateful for them? I think there is. I think we can find a measure of gratitude in our relationship with the annoyances and irritations of life that can actually bring us joy.

Let me explain.

My current ;ist of irritations:

• Dental bill for Janet\u2019s root canal
• Our grandfather clock doesn\u2019t strike 2 anymore
• Crack in our driveway
• The \u201cA\u201d on my computer keyboard.

Where the joy is to be found in these irritations:

There is joy in realizing that no one is out to get me at the dental office or the insurance company. That I\u2019m not a victim. Most people are trying. They may be in a dead-end job they don\u2019t like for no other reason than to support their family. I\u2019ve had a job or two like that in my life. So I can relate. If I want to.

There is joy in appreciating that I\u2019m not in control nearly as much as I think I am. These annoyances remind me I need Jesus. They remind me to focus on the important stuff.

There is joy in being reminded that all these irritations of life are a result of the Fall. That we live in a fallen world, that was never the way God intended our life to be. But it\u2019s not going to be like this forever.

There is joy found in knowing God understands what we\u2019re going through, and as it says of Him in Ephesians 1:10, \u201cAt the right time God will bring everything together under the authority of Christ - everything in heaven and and on earth.\u201d

There is joy in knowing that all the irritations of life will one day cease. When my life ends here on earth, and my new one starts in heaven , there will be no more annoyances, no more mail from the the dental clinic about an overdue bill.

Revelation 21 talks about the new heaven and the new earth that awaits us as follower of Jesus. It\u2019s where there will be no more death, or sorrow, or pain. All these things will be gone forever.

Here\u2019s what I learned today.

More importantly, I\u2019d appreciate reading YOUR takeaways from today\u2019s program in the \u201cLeave a Reply\u201d box at the bottom of the show notes. Or you can send them in an email to me. But for now, here\u2019s what I learned:

1. Don\u2019t let annoyances rob us of the joy of being fully present in the here and now
2. Adjust our expectations. There is something wrong with EVERYTHING.
3. Anticipate and appreciate what heaven will be like, where there will never be any any problems. Where nothing is broken.
4. In the light of eternity, all problems and irritations are temporary. It\u2019s part of having a theology of suffering.
5. We will rarely be thankful for the irritation when it first happens. But give it some time to marinate in our heart, and in time, the gratitude, and even joy, will emerge.

Before I close, here\u2019s the he main take-away from today\u2019s episode, our show in a sentence

The irritations of life, if we let them, can drive us to gratitude to Jesus for calming our hearts when we put these annoyances of life in proper perspective, knowing that in light of eternity, they are only temporary.

Here\u2019s what we can do in response to today\u2019s show

A few things come to mind:

Stare our pet peeves in the face, with a big smile on our face, and repeat, \u201cthis too will pass."

Make a list of all the things that bother us, and in prayer, ask the Lord to give us an eternal perspective about them

Anticipate things will go wrong. Don\u2019t be surprised.

Find the humor.

Closing

Thank you for listening in today. If you found the program helpful I\u2019d appreciate you writing a brief review in iTunes. This will help search engines get our podcast out to more people.

As always, you can find the show notes for the episode by going to johncertalic.com/podcast.

Now for Our Relationship Quote of the Week

"People who say that small things don't bother them have never slept in a room with a mosquito." --Dennis Rainey

That\u2019s all for today. See you next week. Bye for now.

Other Resources

Episode 41: Thankful for the cheerleaders in my life.

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