Looking Up

We are so small.

And yet so precious and deeply loved.

These problems and challenges that swirl around our lives loom huge and threatening.

Yet it is all an illusion.

They are merely a wisp of smoke, easily blown away by the breath of God.

But the waiting for that is the hard part. Because in the waiting, we can lose vision, lose heart and lose hope.

Sometimes all that is needed is to look up.

For me, giving thanks helps fix my gaze on the One who is sovereign over all. The One who conquered death and conquers death in all areas of my life.

Thanking Him for these gifts:

• being abandoned - because now I know the One who is always with me and will never leave me nor forsake me
• being rejected - because now I know what it feels like to be wanted and accepted for who I am
• being unloved - because now I know the Love that never fails
• being accused - because now I know my Shield and Defender, the One who speaks on my behalf
  
• being poor - because now I know my Provider who supplies all my needs
• being misunderstood - because now I know the One who truly gets me and delights in me
• being heartbroken - because a broken heart placed in the hands of Jesus is healed and becomes strong and able to love with freedom and courage
• being betrayed - because now I know the Faithful One who has earned my trust

Sometimes God's greatest gifts come in unexpected ways.

"The Spirit of the Sovereign LORD is on me, because the LORD has anointed me to preach good news to the poor. He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim freedom for the captives and release from darkness for the prisoners, to proclaim the year of the LORD's favor...to bestow on them a crown of beauty instead of ashes, the oil of gladness instead of mourning, a garment of praise instead of a spirit of despair. They will be called oaks of righteousness, a planting of the LORD for the display of his splendor." Isaiah 61:1-3