The list goes on and on. But do you notice the one thing all of those statements have in common? For every envious "I could", it has been followed up with recognizing a blessing of "I could"--showing that perception is half of our battle. If we perceive negatively then we become unhappy with our circumstances and we feel "less than".
"Consider it a sheer gift, friends, when tests and challenges come at you from all sides. You know that under pressure, your faith-life is forced into the open and shows its true colors. So don’t try to get out of anything prematurely. Let it do its work so you become mature and well-developed, not deficient in any way." (James 1:2 MSG)
However, if we perceive positively we become thankful and joyful. It is up to us to change our perspective. God is good all the time, and all the time God is good. It is not He that ever changes, it is us in our sinful flesh that choose to view our circumstances and situations in a way that can make them much bigger or more stressful than they truly are.
"And because of God's gracious gift to me I say to every one of you: Do not think of yourself more highly than you should. Instead, be modest in your thinking, and judge yourself according to the amount of faith that God has given you." (Romans 12:3 GNT)
God sees the good in us, even though we don't deserve it and are sinful and inherently bad. How much more does God deserve for us to see the good in all He does for us, to praise Him in every circumstance, and to remember our blessings--from the biggest, to the tiny and mundane? Because in reality, nothing that has God's hand upon it is tiny or mundane!
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