Looking Up
It had been a long day. Complete with an extra shift at work, frustrating homework assignments, and a burned dinner, I was ready to call it a day. Instead of jumping into bed as usual, I turned off the light, leaned against the wall, looked up, and saw stars. I had forgotten all about it, but during my ‘astronomy’ phase a few years ago I had placed glow in the dark, star shaped stickers all over the ceiling.
I was stunned. It wasn’t because of the beauty of several dozen stickers — far from it. They did, however, lead me to think some things over. Admittedly, the stickers on my ceiling are not noteworthy, meaningful parts of my life. But somehow they got me to question my actions and the motives behind them. How often do I run around with all my energy focused on the task at hand, missing the “insignificant,” beautiful things in my quest to do something important? Am I trying to get to the end of a lesson and keep the class from an off-topic discussion, or did I just miss a chance to share the love of God with a child in a Sunday school? Am I so focused on trying to succeed in life that I forget to live it? I often find myself doing the same thing in prayer. In my rush to get to the “good stuff” — God’s ministry to me — I skip a vital part: the praise and worship. It seems less important to my silly mind, and yet so often praise is where I find strength, healing and hope.
It’s all too familiar; the beautiful sunset becomes nothing more than glare on the windshield. We miss the grandeur of the forest because of a few sticky pine cones. Our lives are so crowded with imperative nothings. In a misguided society where we face a constant onslaught of illusory importance, we all need to step back, look up, and remember what truly matters in the end.
Psalms 119:37 “Turn my eyes from looking at worthless things; and give me life in your ways.”
What has caused you to take note of the truly important things lately? Are there worthless things you’ve left behind? How do you tell the difference?
One good way to get yourself to focus on the important things is to look at what you’re producing. Is it helpful? Is it good? Or is it just stuff? I know that when I did that analysis on my own life, I realized that a lot of what I did was just keeping others satisfied. Not happy or fulfilled, just satisfied. Enough for them to leave me alone.
Some of that is life — it’s not realistic to expect every enterprise to be earth-shattering in importance. But that thought made me refocus and begin to produce more things that would benefit the kingdom of God . . . articles on The New Free Thinkers, for instance.
There is only 1
There has only been 1
There will always be, just 1
Selah!
For where your treasure is, there you will find your heart. I have found that the important things were always those that I considered treasure. the realty was, I put my trust in corruptible things and I had forsaken the very element of life which moth and rust cannot corrupt. My goal is to forsake all and find Jesus……..He’s that 1
He’s that precious stone
He’s that cool drink of water on a hot day
He’s the peace in time of storm
He’s the author, developer, and finisher…..
In Him the weary find rest, Paul could say that he was content in all things becasue he found the secret to life…………………….”It is truly all in HIM!”
Find the shepherd, latch onto him and do not let him go, sell all that you have, every emotional investment in order to purchase that field, the place in which he dwells…….Selah!
It does amaze me how such a big God can show HIs love in small ways, ways that I take for granted to often.
Maybe its just human nature to complain about having to get out of bed instead of thanking God for another glorious day that He made. I guess the less ruled I become by human nature, and the more ruled by God nature the better.
Great questions. Great insights. I think we can all relate.
I’m glad you’re utilizing your writing talent wisely – it’s a worthwhile endeavor.