Look Up


 

To bestow on them a crown of beauty
 instead of ashes,
the oil of gladness
instead of mourning
and a garment of praise
instead of despair.
Isaiah 61:3b


 
This morning while praying I realized that I was simply carrying too much junk. There are circumstances far beyond my control that are causing difficulty, disappointment and even pain in my life. Do I want them? No! So I chose to lay them down at the foot of the Cross and pick up the peace that transcends understanding. (Philippians 4:7) That is when the verse from Isaiah came to mind. It just felt wrong to lay down all my junk and walk away with peace but that is God’s plan.

          As I continued with my reading and my prayers the peace grew. That was a bit odd as one of the readings was directed at one of my sorest spots. Right there in that moment I set the book down and asked God to reveal the deeper lesson to me. Why was He showing me those words in this moment? Friends, God is so very good. Within seconds a full image was in my mind and it was perfect.

          Last year my husband and I spent some time in the Great Smoky Mountains. One of my favorite pictures is of Otto standing in a shallow stream of water, the water is rolling over big beautiful rocks and behind, above, all around him in the picture is the image of the majestic mountains. I love that picture!

          What if, God pointed out to me, there had been a bit of trash in the water? What if some careless person had dropped a can or food wrapper in there? Hmm… I’d ignore it. Well, what if while you were watching Otto and taking the picture several pieces of trash had come into view? My first thought was I’d look away from the trash and as soon as I thought it I saw the greater truth God was revealing to me.

          There is a pile of trash flowing along my stream of life at the moment. It ranges from a random bit of paper to a big, full, ugly diaper moving along and marring the beauty of my days. Sadly I can’t clean it out. I have to wait for a much bigger hand than mine to clean up the mess. I can do my part when the time is right but right now I’m standing by the stream waiting. So what should I do? God’s answer was simple, succinct and perfect. “Look up.”

          Oh! Just like in the mountains. If the view had been momentarily marred by trash I would have looked away, at another part of the stream, at Otto or looked at the mountain. That makes perfect, beautiful, simple sense. My life’s view is a bit off at the moment. The enemy is using circumstances to attempt to steal my joy. Well he can’t have it! It’s Advent right now. Jesus is coming! We’re singing about Emmanuel and preparing room for our Savior. This is a lovely time and I won’t let it be ruined by random trash. I’m looking up and the view is magnificent!

 

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