Changing the way I see...
Ann Voskamp wrote "the practice of giving thanks....the way we practice the presence of God, stay present to His presence...is always a practice of the eyes. We don't have to change what we see. Only the way we see."
Why is it that I so often strive to change the WHAT rather than the HOW? Wanting to change what I see rather than how I see it. Refusing pointblank to see God in the mundane, in the absurd, in the difficult, in the unanswerable. When the Psalmist sang "Give thanks to the Lord of lords. His faithful love endures forever." (Ps136:3), it would seem that He understood that thankfulness and trust go hand in hand. That a thankful spirit exudes trust and remembers faithfulness. How can I ever be thankful for all if I struggle to trust Him in all? If God is good, if He is God, then He is trustworthy. Always. So I can thank Him. Be thankful. Always. For everything.
So,
thank you, Lord, for brokenness; in brokenness your wholeness is revealed. Thank you for bodies that wear out and get sick because you are health and strength enough. Thank you for blessing with suffering because in it we are joined to Christ and His suffering. I give thanks to you for disappointments, disaster and darkness and believe you are undeniably in the midst of them all.
When the blind man was asked by Jesus what he wanted, his reply was "I want to see". Help me see with eyes of faith focused with the disciplined practice of thanksgiving.
Why is it that I so often strive to change the WHAT rather than the HOW? Wanting to change what I see rather than how I see it. Refusing pointblank to see God in the mundane, in the absurd, in the difficult, in the unanswerable. When the Psalmist sang "Give thanks to the Lord of lords. His faithful love endures forever." (Ps136:3), it would seem that He understood that thankfulness and trust go hand in hand. That a thankful spirit exudes trust and remembers faithfulness. How can I ever be thankful for all if I struggle to trust Him in all? If God is good, if He is God, then He is trustworthy. Always. So I can thank Him. Be thankful. Always. For everything.
So,
thank you, Lord, for brokenness; in brokenness your wholeness is revealed. Thank you for bodies that wear out and get sick because you are health and strength enough. Thank you for blessing with suffering because in it we are joined to Christ and His suffering. I give thanks to you for disappointments, disaster and darkness and believe you are undeniably in the midst of them all.
When the blind man was asked by Jesus what he wanted, his reply was "I want to see". Help me see with eyes of faith focused with the disciplined practice of thanksgiving.
Thanks Brenda, always good to read your insightful and heartfelt meditations.
ReplyDeleteMark