Inward

It amazes me how much time we can spend fixated on others. Focusing on what someone else does or does do, says and does not say. It's almost like a subconscious habit to critique others, whether verbally or mentally.

Over time I've realized something though, you can only do YOUR part. You can encourage, direct or lead others but the bottom line is you can't do THEIR part.

Separately, nothing can justify YOU not doing what YOU are suppose to. If you KNOW what you ought to do, do it.. Otherwise you are living in sin.

(Remember, it is sin to know what you ought to do and then not do it. James 4:17)

I think the devil specifically puts thoughts & feelings towards others in our mind and makes THEIR faults so evident to us for one simple reason- we can't change others. The devil knows the longer we remain fixated on THEM, our eyes are off of Jesus & we can no long strive for perfection when we are so fixated on an imperfect vessel.

Our minds get so perplexed when we don't understand people or their choices and it throws us off track because we become so fixated on other peoples flaws we forget to look in our own mirror. Even the bible tells us we all fall short, so why are we so surprised? The fact that along with those around us, we too fall short sometimes should make it that much easier to look past the petty & look into the potential.

We need to constantly be looking at OUR actions and OUR attitudes in relation to God and His word because then, and only then can we truly see where we stand in this christian walk.

One of my favorite scriptures on this topic is Psalm 139:23- 24

Search me, O God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts. Point out anything in me that offends you, and lead me along the path of everlasting life.

If you compare yourself to others, you will always "feel" as if "you aren't SO bad" or maybe you wont feel "good enough", whatever the case may be, it's an inaccurate measure of your self worth. The only way to "measure up" to another with accuracy is to compare yourself to Jesus, the one and only comparison of what TRUE love is, what TRUE obedience is, what TRUE faith is and what TRUE trust in God looks like. THEN you will see an honest & accurate measure if where you are and where you need to be...

This isn't something that will come natural, since childhood we have compared and contrasted ourselves to those around us. It will take time, effort, commitment and most of all discipline, but the transformation will be worth it.

The one thing I ask of the LORD— the thing I seek most—
is to live in the house of the LORD all the days of my life,
delighting in the LORD’s perfections
and meditating in his Temple. Psalm 27:4

I'm making the decision to look to JESUS. To SEEK out truth, to SEEK out direction and insight to SEEK out wisdom and understanding to SEEK out the Christ like character that's hidden within.

Definition of SEEK:

1. To resort to: go to
2. To go in search of: look for: try to discover
3. To ask for: REQUEST
4. To try to acquire or gain; aim at.

SEEK is a VERB and if you remember from elementary school, a verb is an ACTION word. It's going to take ACTION on our part if this is TRULY the desire of our heart.

There are many people who think they KNOW the way, but JESUS IS THE WAY. If you aren't always looking to the one way of life, you'll inevitably slip, fall and stubble into a place you'd rather not be.

Fix your eyes on Jesus. Don't look to the left or to the right, don't allow the short comings of another become your stumbling block. You have one life to live, give it the best you possibly can and forget about everything else!!

Next time I face a difficult person or situation that I don't understand, I've made up in my mind that before I judge or criticize I will look inward to my own heart and then upward to God's heart. Then and only then will I find true direction or peace.

Focus Forward

Many people will live stuck in stagnation, or even worse regression simply because they can never fix their focus FORWARD. Many times in life we claim to be moving in one direction, but our bodies and words are faced the opposite way. How can this be?

Let’s look at this logically... Can darkness and light ever co- exist? Of course not. Where there is light, darkness has no place. Is it really possible to look at two opposite things at the same time? Or will your attention always be on one while your back is to the other?

How will you ever know who you are destined to be if you’re always focused on who you’re not?

How will you ever appreciate what you have if you’re always fixated on all you want?

How will you see where you’re going if you are always faced in the direction of where you’ve been?

How can your life be filled with peace if you’re always focused on strife?

How can you love on the outside if you hate on the inside?

Your life will always go in the direction that you face.  Can you ever really move forward while facing backwards?

My purpose isn’t to ask a bunch of question that leave you confused, rather my hope is it prompts a curiosity deep within to evaluate your focal point. What are you looking at? What do you focus on? Is that the direction you desire your life to head into?

Ultimately you and you alone are responsible for the direction of your thoughts, words and life. You choose. Which way will you go?

A New View

My husband & I don't watch much television, but when we do, one of the shows we like to watch is "Southland", a police show based out of LA. Although it's not a "reality show", it's interesting in the sense that every day is something different and it seems to capture the "behind the scenes" of a day in the life of a police officer.

The last couple of episodes leading up to the season finale were pretty intense. Two of the police officers were kidnapped by two drug addicts, held captive, tortured & inevitably one was left for dead while the other managed to get away.

After this traumatizing experience the police officer who made it out was under psychological care, trying to help him deal with what had happened. Needless to say, it didn't help... One day one of his fellow police officers asked him to recap the night, was there anything that he could remember, he said no & she said this: “Try something new, don't be in it, be above it & then tell me if you can see anything new. Like as if you were in a helicopter hovering over, what would you see from the different perspective”

Now, that might not seem too profound or theological to you, but to me, those words instantly pierced my heart and opened my eyes to an entirely different perspective. It made me realize how much of my life is viewed from a limited angle. Not that it’s necessarily wrong, but it doesn’t maximize my view. Instead, it leaves me seeing just what is before me right now, whatever it is in the forefront of life for that moment, that’s what I see.

I realized how important it is to sometimes stand up, step back and look at life from a different perspective. I would imagine if you began to look at some of your own current situations that may be holding you back, stressing you out or over whelming you, from a completely different perspective, you might see a completely different situation.

Sometimes it’s not about just seeing what stands before you, but looking from a distance and seeing “it” in relation to the much bigger picture. This could go for every area of life if you’d be bold enough to apply it.

Here are some common scenarios that many of us deal with on a regular basis.

-       Sick of your co- workers? Unemployment is at an all-time high, be grateful you have a job that so many others search diligently for everyday with no avail.

-       Your children are giving you a hard time? Think of all the women around the word that have lost their little ones or women who cannot bear children at all.

-       Overwhelmed with household responsibilities? Take a trip to the nearest shelter, I wonder what any one of those men or women would do to have what you call your “burden”.

-       Your spouse is getting on your nerves? How about all the men and women who have prematurely and unexpectedly loss their loved one, I bet they would give anything to spend one more day, even the worst of days with their spouse.

-       Bills overwhelming you? How about the fact you have a reason to be billed, more than many people can say. How many people DON’T have running water, a warm home, food on the table, cell phones in their pockets, clothes on their back or even a roof over their head.

The list could literally go on and on, but these are just a few. You can call me dramatic, or you can realize that your biggest “burden” is a blessing that has been inaccurately assessed.

There are people all over the world who would give ANYTHING to have what we have, we are blessed beyond belief and yet we find the burden in everything.

How about we stand up, step back and look at life from a different perspective. Maybe it’s not so bad after all?   

There is an indescribable joy that comes from a grateful heart. Jealousy, envy, bitterness, resentment, anger or ungratefulness is a CANCER to your body and soul. It will make you sick and bring you down.

I wonder what it would look like if we actually practiced, on purpose the art of being grateful.

 

Looking for Love

Deep down inside we all have a desire to be longed after, appreciated, loved, cared for or even just noticed.. We all want to know that someone out there sees us, and cares for us. We want to know that we aren't alone. We want to know we have friends, the kind of friends that care about us as much as we care for them, who are willing to go the extra mile to help us out when we need it, who aren't one sided in their expectations and are truly willing to give rather than just receive. Deep inside, we all just want to know that someone out there sees the good IN us and is willing to do what it takes to pull it OUT..

I'm certain, whether we admit it or not, we all have a desire to know a love that is unconditional, freely given and overflowing in our lives. Not just sometimes, but all the time.

Who hasn’t ever felt like this? Who hasn’t sat down and thought, “wow, if only there was ONE, just ONE, who cared for me, the way I cared for them.” It seems like knowing that someone loves you and is rooting for you is all we need to push forward a little further, reach a little higher, believe a little longer.

This desire for love isn’t new, it isn’t wrong, it isn’t selfish and it certainly isn’t out of reach. However, too many times our desires have been misdirected and our search has come back empty leaving us to believe a love like this doesn't exist, but that's not true! It does exist, we’ve just been looking in all the wrong places.

We were made in the image of God, in His likeness and I believe His desire to be loved by us, has been embedded in US as a desire to be loved by Him as well. The only problem is, we have searched through all creation for this great love when in actuality it can only be given by the creator of love Himself.

Some of us look to men or women, husbands or wives, boyfriends or girlfriends, our children, our leaders, our bosses or our family and friends. The desire to be validated by another can be relentless, almost like a burning within. Is this feeling wrong? No, it’s just misplaced. We cannot look to man or woman to fill a void this great, a void created by God to be filled by Him alone.

The love we seek after is no ordinary love; rather it is a love so unique that it can only be found in God. No other love will every quench your desire the way the love of God can.  This love is not a “one size fits all” kind of love. He loves each one of us in the exact way we need to be loved and will give each one of us the exact portion which we need to be not only fulfilled, but overflowing.

This love is pure and perfect, filling each void and emptiness we have, and then, it continues to pour out on us in abundance until it overflows. This love is so great, it could only come from the One who IS love..