*Follower of Christ Friday* Open Your Eyes
*Follower of Christ Friday*
"OPEN YOUR EYES"
“Why can’t I be more pretty, smart, skinny, successful, spiritual ?
“Why can’t we have a new car, a new TV, a new phone, more money in general? ”
“God, why don’t I get well, get promoted, get out of this town?”
“God, when is he / she going to change, grow up, quit being lazy, stop being hateful etc..
Mumble, Grumble, Question, Complain. We all have those moments when we see everything NOT going the way we want. Whether you are a glass half full or half empty, and the above list is in no way exhaustive, I think we have all found ourselves asking these type of questions from time to time.
You know it’s a mindset. Truly! A vantage point. When I think of perspective I am always reminded of the book, The Noticer, by author Andy Andrews. In it, a homeless man named Jones, who while living on the beach and enjoying sardines and crackers helps another character see a different perspective. One that sees ‘crackers and sardines’ as “Surf and Turf” while enjoying the peaceful backdrop of the ocean. You see Jones chose to see his life through a lens of gratitude and not one that only saw lack.
Throughout the book Andrews teaches how to gain a different vantage point, and that it all really starts in how you think. I know some would say you can’t control how you think, but In Philippians, Paul says we can and should.
Philippians 4: 8 …whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things.
He says THINK about THESE things. Not that we won’t have those thoughts, but to not meditate on them.
He is saying we Do have a choice.
Don’t think about the negative, y’all, think about the good stuff, the blessings. It’s easy to always want to fix things, to improve yourself, or your life’s circumstances. I am NOT saying we shouldn’t strive to be better or even have better. I AM saying while we are improving we need to be OKAY with where we are right now.
Paul tells us, as we read further down in Philippians, to be content in WHATEVER we have.
“…for I have learned how to be content with whatever I have. I know how to live on almost nothing or with everything. I have learned the secret of living in every situation, whether it is with a full stomach or empty, with plenty or little. For I can do all things through Christ, who gives me strength.
Our minds can naturally go to a critical spirit that complains about what is not going the way we would like. I know this so well because I am guilty of it. I am in the process of learning, and as far as I have come, I am still getting there. I WILL have victory in this area though, and I praise God he is molding me so that I will.
It’s been said before that the blessings we have right now are the answered prayers of someone else. When I think about my life from that perspective it helps to shift me from a mouth full of grumbling to a heart full of gratitude.
So whether we have a lot or a little money or material things, whether we are sick or well, whether we have a big or small residence, whether our shape is thick or thin, whether our body is new or old etc…Let us be content.
May I encourage you today to choose to…
Change the things you can.
Accept the things you can’t
Find the blessing in ‘whatever I have.’
Ask Father God for new eyes, a new perspective, through HIS vantage point
And then see. . . Open your eyes and really see!
Brandi Bell is the wife of Doug Bell and the mom to three amazing boys;
Paxton, Cooper, and Jarvis. She and Doug have been married for almost 19 years,
and since 2005, have been serving as Worship Pastor and Lead Pastor
at CrossPointe Church in Olive Branch, MS. Day to day
you can find her homeschooling her boys, surrounded by music,
enjoying planners, good writing pens, and coffee.
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