IF YOU STRUGGLE TO BE POSITIVE — TRY SUMMA THIS.
‘Celebrate with praises the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has shown us his extravagant mercy. For his fountain of mercy has given us a new life — we are reborn to experience a living, energetic hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead. ‘ 1 Peter 1:3
Life is all about perspective isn’t it?
From my perspective, there’s no reason to be afraid of aging, because if you age, you’re lucky! The alternative is death. — Drew Barrymore
The other day at the park, the kids were complaining how they were thirsty. So, I looked around the corner (we were at an elementary school) and I found a water fountain. I pointed to it and they went running.
Aaliyah (my 7 year old) took a bunch of sips and was satisfied, but Roscoe (age 10) passed on the water. When I asked him, “why didn’t you have any if you were so thirsty?” He responded, “the water fountain was dirty”.
Interesting perspective. One of my kids was satisfied and the other not — his loss.
The same goes for how I view my life. If I’m not careful, I can lose my positive perspective very quickly.
Instead of looking around our home at what we “do have”, sometimes I look at what “we don’t”. And, when this happens — I can literally feel the energy inside me vaporizing into thin air.
“when you live your life by comparison, you will aways end up dissatisfied, envious, resentful, jealous, and bitter.” — Brian C. Houston
Your lens on life is so important because it affects everything you do.
Your lens will determine how grateful you are.
Your lens will determine how much joy you have.
Your lens will determine the type of friends you choose.
Your lens will determine they type of mentors you have.
Your lens will determine your FAITH.
If you can’t PRAISE God in a dark season —check your lens.
If you don’t have the energy to open your Bible — check your lens.
If you don’t understand the mercy and grace on your life — check your lens.
Let me give another example because it hit me just as I was reading this verse. As I was re-reading this verse in 1 Peter, the word “fountain” stuck out to me.
When I first read it — nothing. Nothing came to mind.
But, as I kept reading the verse, a picture of the Bellagio Fountain came to mind.
A few years back, we took a family vacation to Las Vegas. I love Vegas. It’s so much fun, even with kids. We basically hit the pool all day and eat till we fall over.
But, this we went — we were upgraded to a room with a Bellagio Fountain view. And, let me tell yah — that thing is F’N MASSIVE. They say it holds 22 million gallons of water, crazy.
Every night from our window — we watched — MESMERIZED.
And that’s the picture I get when I read this verse about God’s mercy toward us. It is a “fountain of mercy” on my life. So much mercy that I couldn’t imagine how to make it all happen. I don’t know how it even HAPPENS.
My lens is God’s abundance in this world rather than his lack. His fountain of mercy is like the Bellagio Fountain instead of a water fountain at my local park.
It’s the lens — the lens — the lens.
One last thing.
If you ever go to church anywhere and they ask for prayer or praise reports — do an audit of how often you share. I have found over time that I would stop writing down prayer requests or praise reports as if they didn’t apply to me.
In my head I was like, “yah, this is for new people who really need prayer. My prayer request or praise report is all good. God knows.”
I fight that lens as much as possible. Just the other week I wrote something down for our team to pray for during these hard times. And to be more specific, I asked for “wisdom” in these times. Wisdom at work to be able to see what is ahead. Wisdom with my family and so on.
Another week I wrote down and shared a praise report that “we had food in the fridge, gas in my car and a place to live.” It may seem simple to you but it’s a BIG DEAL for me.
Don’t miss WHAT God is doing in your life.
Don’t miss the PRAISE moments because your glasses were dirty.
Clean ’em up — get back in there.
Let’s pray:
Jesus, help me to see the GOOD in life. Help me to know your greatness is inside me. If you are not #1 in my life — I ask you today. Please be #1, help me to put my efforts in you and not myself. I know I f’d up — please forgive me. I want to move forward — I want my lens to be cleared to see greatness. Amen.
