The Lens of Gratitude

When I was in middle school, we noticed that I was having trouble seeing things in class, so my parents took me to get my eyes checked. Lo and behold, we discovered that my vision was very poor, and I was in severe need of corrective lenses.

I remember the exact moment when they put proper lenses on my eyes. The minute I had them on, I was was able to look through the front doors of the office and see the trees across the street. Not only that, I could see the leaves on the trees — even their definition, their color, and their shape. I was truly astonished. I remember asking ‘Is this what you’re supposed to see? Does everyone see the leaves?!’ I walked through school that next day, and was amazed that I could now recognize faces in the hallway — previously, everyone had been a blur. I had no idea that it wasn’t supposed to be that way.

My view of the entire world changed that day, with the addition of a lens.

Have you heard the little saying, “If the whole world stinks, check under your own nose?” It is true that we can go through life with complaints and ungratefulness in our hearts without it having anything to do with what we’re complaining about, but rather, the way we are looking at it.

What are some things in your life that you find uncomfortable right now? What are the things that are a ‘thorn in your side’, irritate you, or cause you to complain? What is something that you are unsatisfied with right now?

Could it be that we could look at them differently? If we chose to put on a lens of gratitude through which to see our situations, it would change us. It would bring joy. With a heart of gratitude, God can make things clear to you; the things that were once blurry He can define. He can help you see things that you didn’t see before, give you a renewed perspective, and give color to what was dull and grey. It’s the way we are supposed to live; it’s the way He designed us.

The spirit of our Western world is one of ingratitude. We pray for a new house, a job, a spouse, friends, etc., only then to become ungrateful later when we have to clean it, work harder at it, or see that that person may not be perfect. ‘Keeping up with the Joneses’ is the disease of so many, and has become a habit and a culture that has creeped over even into the church world.

My brothers and sisters in the Lord, this should not be. Let’s distance ourself from looking like the world, and let’s look like Jesus. May we learn to be content, like the Apostle Paul, in whatsoever situation we find ourselves, and recognize the things that are truly important. We have health, life, and people to love and who love us. We have a Savior that died for us and set us free. We have the best, most important, and ultimate gifts. The rest comes and goes, and we should never set our sights on them.

Tomorrow, when we sit down at our Thanksgiving meals, let us all be conscious of putting on a different lens; one that causes us to see with the clarity that thankfulness brings. My prayer is that we would then not let it stop once the calendar day of Thanksgiving has passed. Let’s always see through the lens of gratitude year round, noticing even the small details of life for which we should be thankful.

Even though my vision was corrected at that initial meeting, I still have to go in for check-ups every now and then. We also should continually do a check-up of our lenses as well. Circumstances affect our vision all the time, causing it to sometimes shift and change; we must take our eyes back to the Word of God on a regular basis and let it diagnose us and get our vision back to seeing 20/20.

Put on a new lens of thankfulness. It will change you. Exercise the muscle of a grateful heart today, being diligent to tend to it and not let it weaken. In that, you will find great strength and victory. Let’s ask Him today to make us more thankful than we’ve ever been before.

“There is joy and meaning to be found in serving God, who has given us more than we could ever pay back. The character to live in celebrational gratitude is the key to happy significance” -Mark Rutland, President of Oral Roberts University

“I don’t have a sense of needing anything personally. I’ve learned by now to be quite content whatever my circumstances. I’m just as happy with little as with much, with much as with little. I’ve found the recipe for being happy whether full or hungry, hands full or hands empty. Whatever I have, wherever I am, I can make it through anything in the One who makes me who I am.” –Philippians 4:11-13, The Message

Comfy?

Deut 4:29, the Amplified version, says “But if, from there, you will seek (inquire for and require as necessity) the Lord your God, you will find Him if you truly seek Him with all your heart and mind and soul and life.” 

I love that. There is something so beautiful about the resolution of total surrender, complete trust, and fervent expectation. Those traits are portrayed here as steps that take us down the path to finding God.

If we are saved and born again, God has already been ‘found’ by each and every one of us. There is no need to go trying to find Him again, in this regard. But there are levels of knowing Him, each one deeper, that He desires to share with us, just as we desire to share the deeper parts of ourselves with those we love most. We are those that God loves most, and He desires those deeper places to be found by you — and they can only be found by seeking Him in the way this verse describes.

In our culture, so very many things come so very easy. I am amazed when I think of things like Skype and Bluetooth technology, for example. The convenience of our world is astounding. And then you have things like Frozen dinners and Snuggies, that show our obsession with being comfortable. Comfort is catered to, even courted. It is a defining mark of many of the technological advances of our age. We are always pursuing ways to make easy things even easier.

This all has its place, and I will be the first one to say how thankful I am for convenience and technological advances; but I do feel that the comfort of our culture has created ease not only in the “things” in our lives, but also in our souls. We don’t need to seek convenience in our spiritual life the way we do our natural one.We must learn to separate the two. Separate the circumstances of life with the attitudes of the heart.

Many times, the disruption of comfort in the circumstances of our lives brings us to a place where we seek God out of a fervent need for Him; like in problems with family, finances, or health, for example. God is a very present help in times of trouble, and we can always know that He is the first place we can run when things go wrong. But He can also be the first place we go all the time, even when things go right.

It is good that we would be closely familiar with God in our daily lives, but we should also always keep a reverent fear and awe of Him in our hearts (Ps 5:7). Don’t let comfort in any area of your life cause you to lose zeal in your spiritual life. Revelation says that God does not prefer you in a lukewarm state.

“I know your works, that you are neither cold nor hot. I wish you were cold or hot. So then, because you are lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will vomit you out of My mouth. You say, ‘I am rich, have become wealthy, and have need of nothing.’ You do not know that you are wretched, miserable, poor, blind and naked…As many as I love, I rebuke and chasten. Therefore be zealous and repent.” (Revelation 3:15-17, 19 NKJV)

You may not feel like you are the person who has need of nothing, but let’s relate to this soul in the attitude of our hearts. Do we find any common ground? No matter where you were yesterday, let us be passionate today. To do so, you will have to fight against the urge to draw back, because it is not always convenient to be on fire for God.

Be full of zeal, so that when the world turns on Christians like the leaders did in Daniel’s day, or in Esther’s — we will be strong enough and passionate enough to stand firmly. (See Daniel 6:7-10, Esther 3:12-14, 4:14-16). “The people who know their God will be strong, and will stand firm, and do exploits for God” (Daniel 11:32).

Live with a unsatisfied satisfaction, being content and thankful with life, yet considering it as nothing in contrast to knowing Him. Paul did in Phil 3:8:

 “I count everything as loss compared to the possession of the priceless privilege (the overwhelming preciousness, the surpassing worth, and supreme advantage) of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord and of progressively becoming more deeply and intimately acquainted with Him [of perceiving and recognizing and understanding Him more fully and clearly.]” (Amplifed version)

May we know God in that light today — with that intensity of purpose and devotion. With no reason, or no other agenda today, seek Him. ‘Require Him’ as a vital part of your day. How do you do that? Read the Bible. Talk to God, just like you would talk to someone you trust. Think about Him. Desire Him.

There are great rewards when you find Him. He brings sweetness, joy, and peace into every area of your life. There is a reason He is worth pursing with all your heart and mind and soul and life. Let’s find out what it is.

Turtle on a Fence Post

Yesterday, I heard our dog, Knightly, barking in the yard, abnormally more than usual. I went out to check on him and, low-and-behold, he was playing with a rather large turtle. The turtle had, of course, shrunk completely into his shell, as my excited puppy was turning him up and down and all around, totally confused by this moving rock.

A turtle’s natural state is either low to the ground or in the water. It is not unnatural for him to be found in either of these places. But it is, however, very unnatural to see him on any raised place — any high ground.

“Anytime you see a turtle on top of a fence post, you know he had some help.” -Alex Haley

Are you familiar with this quote? Chances are probably ‘yes’. It is a saying that speaks on many levels. Our pastor recently preached a wonderful sermon about it, and God brought all that up to me as I thought about Knightly with the turtle, and saw it in the light of Mother’s Day.

None of us have achieved any of our accomplishments in life of our own accord. It may feel like you worked for that promotion, and it truly may be that your talents and skills won that award. Yet, there were other hands behind the forming of that work ethic, and many teachers behind those talents and skills.

Christ is the ultimate help, as our redeemer and the lifter of our heads. Any fence post upon which we ever sit is a result of Him setting us there. What have we in this life that is not from Him, to Him, and for Him? (1) What talent, what gifting, what skills? What relationships, what blessings, what health? The ability to breathe life in and out; the blessing of having light in our souls instead of darkness — we can claim none of it as of our own accord, and to do so is to deny the God of Heaven. (2)

There is another saying that I like: “It takes a village to raise a child”. The ‘villagers’ are those God uses to help get us up on that fence post.

One of the main people He uses is also one of His ultimate blessings — a mom. Three little letters, but what a big word! What an enormous impact on each of our lives that name has had! Maybe yours is not your natural mother, or birth mother. Maybe she is a grandmother or a mentor, but for all of us there is a woman whose predominance in our lives has shaped and molded us into the people we are today.

Take some moments today to recognize those ‘villagers’ to whom you owe a great debt of gratitude. Truly be thankful as you think on them, and be sure to express it in tomorrow’s celebration. (3) Be humble enough, and small enough in your own eyes, to understand that you are a product of the love and care of the “village” around you. Without Him, without them, and without our moms, we would not be much to ‘write home about’.

Also, in our pursuit of reaching the top of the fence post, remember to always take the opportunities to be someone else’s “village”, too. Don’t be a greedy turtle. There are enough fence posts out there for all of us! In fact, the view is even better when we have others with which to share it.

The turtle? Me. The village? My Father God, my parents, and all who have supported, encouraged and believed in me over the years. But today, it is my mom.

(1) Romans 11:36 ESV “For from Him and through Him and to Him are all things, to Him be glory forever. Amen.”

(2) Acts 17:28  ESV “In Him we live and move and have our being…”

 (3) Colossians 3:15 GNT “…be thankful.” 

Proverbs 31: 28-31 NLT “Her children stand and bless her. Her husband praises her: “There are many virtuous and capable women in the world, but you surpass them all! Charm is deceptive and beauty does not last; but a woman who fears the Lord will be greatly praised. Reward her for all she has done. Let her deeds publicly declare her praise.”