Perspective

We have had a few heavy dumps of snow recently and it is amazing how it changes the scenery. The same views that you see everyday take on a new perspective – fresh, stark, beautiful, the mud covered, the scars in the landscape transformed,

I also recently took my walk the opposite way round and it is amazing how strange that was, the path was different , the view different, the way different, the perspective changed – fresh, and new.

How good would it be  then to look on life, the world, our peoples from a different perspective, from God’s perspective. ? How can we do this? By finding  the heart of God, by drawing near.

First of all we read often that Jesus withdrew by himself, went to a quiet place and prayed , He had that need to escape from the clamour of the crowds to hear His Father’s voice.  And then he tells us :

       Come with me by yourselves to a quiet place and get some rest. (Mk 6:31)

Come away, come to a place where the world is not clamouring after you, where its influence grows dim, come to a place where the lies of Satan are silenced, come to that place where you can put your thoughts aside and can see things from God’s perspective .

It is like the time Elijah looked for God on the mountain (1 Ki 19:1-18) , he had been inward looking, could only see things from his own perspective and it lead him to despair.  He thought he was the only one being true to God, the only faithful disciple.  He had to come to a place where he could find God, get a change of perspective and a dose of reality.  So he looked, but God was not in the strong wind, he looked but God was not in the earthquake, he looked but God was not in the fire, no God was found in a “low/gentle whisper”, in a place of quiet.  And what Elijah discovered was a different perspective – he was not alone after all, there were 7,000 faithful folk not bowing the knee to Baal!

So my friends that is what we need to do, to come to that place where we still our souls and hear that low, gentle whisper and get God’s perspective on our situations. We need to come away with Jesus to a quiet place and rest AWHILE, till we hear things which turn our perspective round.

 

Lean In

We have a Young collie dog and he has started leaning on me! If I am sitting down, he comes and sits on my foot, leaning his whole body into me, or if standing he comes and leans right in!  I’m not really sure why he does this, if it is a security thing or not, but it reminds me of the old hymn “Leaning on the Everlasting Arms”

What a fellowship, what a joy divine,
Leaning on the everlasting arms;
What a blessedness, what a peace is mine,
Leaning on the everlasting arms.
Refrain:
Leaning, leaning,
Safe and secure from all alarms;
Leaning, leaning,
Leaning on the everlasting arms.

Oh, how sweet to walk in this pilgrim way,
Leaning on the everlasting arms;
Oh, how bright the path grows from day to day,
Leaning on the everlasting arms.
What have I to dread, what have I to fear,
Leaning on the everlasting arms?
I have blessed peace with my Lord so near,
Leaning on the everlasting arms.

When you lean on something/someone you expect that thing/person to be stable, to be firm, to be able to hold you up.

So Who or what then do I rely on, what do I lean into?  Often it is myself and my own resources, I try and figure things out first and then present my solution to God.  I lean on my own wisdom, my own understanding of a situation, and don’t see things from God’s perspective.

“Trust in the Lord with all your heart and DO NOT LEAN on your own understanding” (Prov 3:5)

It is no wonder then that my thinking gets confused and muddled, I’m leaning wrong!

I need to lean on Jesus – He knows best, He knows things from God’s perspective , He knows how things work! He is wisdom and light to my confusion and darkness. He is strength to my weakness, He is security to my fears, He is peace to my anxious soul, He is my rock to lean on.

The hymn writer speaks of such joy and peace and security through leaning on the everlasting arms, so by not leaning on Jesus, by trying to do it on my own I am missing out, missing out on that blessedness, that sweetness, that assurance of His presence with me.

So then I must lean in with my full weight to the God above, who is more than able to bear us and the full weight of all our insecurities, troubles and anxieties and muddled thinking!

Lean right, lean on God!

Leaning, leaning, leaning on the everlasting arms, safe and secure from all alarms, Leaning, leaning, leaning on the everlasting arms!

 

Good days

I am conscious that often I write out my struggles in the everyday, but you know sometimes you just have good days.

They are not out of the ordinary days, but just days where you breathe in and out conscious of God’s blessing on your life.

Days where you appreciate the good things you have in your life.

Days where you are mindful of the everyday things which bring joy. Living in the moment, thankful for the moment.

It is just as important to speak out of those days, to give thanks for those days, rejoice in those days, write out a Psalm of Praise in those days.

So today I am thankful for a beautiful, crisp, clear sunny morning. Thankful for my church family who I am going out to see soon.  Thankful for my pastor who faithfully preaches the Word of God.    A couple of days ago we were also celebrating and giving thanks for our (past) youth worker & his ministry.  And today I am so glad of some precious time with my (adult) children; because these times are getting fewer and longer inbetween they have become more and more precious, so I am especially thankful for them.  Thankful for having merciful God in my life, thankful for His grace upon me.  I am thankful for so many things,

What are you thankful for today?

psalm 89

I will sing of the LORD’s great love forever; with my mouth I will make your faithfulness known through all generations. 2 I will declare that your love stands firm forever, that you have established your faithfulness in heaven itself.