Forward Blessings

“I will thank you by living as I should.” (Psalm 119:7 NLT)

I buy larger food storage containers to share meals with others. I used to write my name on the bottom of these containers, hoping that they would get returned to me. Until recently.  I dropped off some food for a friend who has a lot going on in her life. I told her to just keep the dish. She replied, “Thank you; this dish is a nice size to bless someone else with.” Her statement was a great lesson for me. 

Gratitude can be passed forward by actions. 

We are taught to express gratitude in words and deeds. When someone does a favor or gives us a gift, we thank them. We try to reciprocate in an equivalent manner. We pass around the container of blessings in circles. We do the same when showing appreciation for God’s blessings. We thank Him and hope for more. 

The Lord gives us containers of blessings. He doesn’t need us to return anything. He wants us to forward what we have been given, to bless others without expectations of reciprocity. This is how we can show gratitude by our choices and actions. Glorify God by sharing your gifts with those in need, those who cannot pay you back. Forward your blessings. 

Uncompromising Integrity

“Joyful are people of integrity, who follow the instructions of the Lord...They do not compromise with evil, and they walk only in his paths.” (Psalm 119:1, 3 NLT)

Marathon cheaters have come up with different ways to shrink the distance they run during a race. The microchips on race bibs register the time at various checkpoints. In order to trick the system, some runners will drop off the course after a checkpoint, take shortcuts, and reappear before the next checkpoint. There have even been cases where people take buses, trains, and ride bicycles between checkpoints. In contrast, there are runners who won’t even take a shortcut on a training run. They might be running by themselves, and no one else cares if they are running 10 miles or 9.9 miles. But it matters to them. They know that by cutting corners in training, they are only cheating themselves. 

People of integrity have an internal consistency. They are honest, straightforward, and sincere even when no one else is holding them accountable. They stick by their principles. Their behavior is coherent with their morals. They don’t make deals with evil. In a world where winning is prized above all else, uncompromising integrity is not popular. 

As Christians, we should be known for our integrity. Unfortunately, this is not always the case. Every day, we have many choices to make. Do we cut corners? Or do we follow along the paths of righteousness? Do we make compromises in order to be popular? Or do we remain steadfast to our principles? Do we honor our commitments? Are our actions and speech coherent? There are no checkpoints along the route of life monitoring our integrity. We have to do this for ourselves. Whatever we gain dishonorably is worthless, even if the rest of the world thinks otherwise. 

The Best of Wisdom

“Break open your word within me until revelation-light shines out!

Those with open hearts are given insight into your plans.” (Psalm 119:130 TPT)

Whole milk is an emulsion of fat and lipoprotein. Making butter involves churning the milk until the fat molecules detach from the liquid and float to the top where they can be scooped up. The butter is always present in the milk. It just takes deliberate effort to bring it to the surface.

  

Much of what I know is not brand new information. Like any discovery, it was always there; I just didn’t know it was there. I know many things in a deeper way now than I knew before. What was amorphous and vague now has shape. I am able to articulate what was unclear a few years ago, because I have a more nuanced and profound understanding of certain things. 

Wisdom is always present in our subconscious mind. Yet, it remains indiscernible until contemplation and experience bring it to the surface. This takes intentional resolution. We have to invite the Spirit of God to break open our souls. Divine illumination reveals truth. Receptive minds are given understanding. Insights emerge from the depths of our being. The creme de la creme, the best of wisdom, becomes accessible. 

Praying Psalm 143

Listen to my prayer, Lord. 

Not because I deserve to be heard, 

But because You are compassionate.

My heart is heavy with despair

I’ve fallen into a black hole

My spirit is draining away

Lord, come quickly!

Don’t ignore me.

Rescue me from the pit of despair

Wake me each morning with whispers of hope

Sing me to sleep with lullabies of faith

Silence my fears

Fight my battles

Direct me in the way I should go

I entrust everything to you. 

Channeling Grief

“If you offer yourselves in compassion for the hungry and relieve those in misery, then your dawning light will rise in the darkness, and your gloom will turn into noonday splendor!” (Isaiah 58:10 TPT)

Grief, the deep sorrow of loss, cripples the spirit. It pushes us into the pit of despair. It blurs our focus, enlarging the bad while diminishing good. The more we struggle, the further we sink into the quagmire of hopelessness. We reach out for distractions, but, like rotten driftwood, they cannot hold the weight of our sadness for long. 

The energy of grief, when scattered like ashes in the wind, blows back into your face. Diversions do not diminish sorrow. Processing sadness takes prayer, time, and intentional focus. Grief, when channeled to help others, can be healing. Instead of distracting ourselves, we can direct our energy into alleviating the suffering of those around us. When we offer ourselves in compassion to those in need and relieve those in misery, then our gloom turns to light. 

Attention Span Regression

“And do not imitate this world, but be transformed by the renovation of your minds, and you shall distinguish what is the good, acceptable and perfect will of God.” (Romans 12:12 APBE)

When was the last time you focused your attention on a single task, without distractions, for more than an hour? 

 Advances in technology inundate us with more and more information and stimulation. Most of us have multiple devices vying for our attention.  We no longer even try to filter out the unimportant. Instead, we have become accustomed to fragmented thoughts and diminished concentration. We cannot blame our electronic devices for our shortened attention spans. Because we have so many options and novel diversions, self-interruptions are the norm. We go searching for distractions when we feel bored or stuck. We have trained our brains to continually scan for diversions, thus reducing our ability to focus on one task for very long. 

In order to retrain our concentration, we must identify the attention-span leaks and reconstruct our minds. If you find electronic devices too distracting, go back to paper. The act of writing, pen on paper, can help our brain make connections and process information. Reading paper books can be intensely satisfying. Deep work requires focus. Create physical and mental environments that block out distractions. Turn off notifications. Put on earplugs. Find spaces of solitude and quiet. Resist the temptation to multi-task; it leads to negligence. Figure out when your brain is most alert. Set aside this time for focused activities. Schedule short breaks between diligent sessions of concentration. Once you are in a state of flow, let nothing disrupt you. Do not imitate this world. Renovate your mind. Filter out the noise. Pay attention to what is good. 

God Care

“He will feed His fold like a shepherd; He will gather together His lambs—the weak and the wobbly ones—into His arms. He will carry them close to His bosom, and tenderly lead like a shepherd the mother of her lambs.” (Isaiah 40:11 VOICE)

I belong to a Facebook group for dog people. I tend to be liberal with hitting the ‘Like’ button on every puppy post.  I read about a lady who works from home and has a new puppy. She takes her puppy to a doggy-daycare so that she can focus on her work for a few hours every day. I skipped the ‘Like’ button. When my dog was alive, I could not bring myself to leave her with anyone outside our immediate family. What does this reveal about me? Perhaps it means I am more attached to my dog, or it could be that I have trust and abandonment issues!   

I seem to have a similar independent streak when it comes to handling other issues. Instead of surrendering my concerns and weaknesses to God, I try to take care of everything myself. Even though I realize that the Lord is capable and dependable, I am reluctant to let go. 

God runs a day and night care center for all of us. He gathers the weak and the wobbly ones in His arms and tenderly cares for them. We can drop off  all our concerns, weaknesses, fears, anxieties in God-care any time we are ready. He is trustworthy. He will never abandon us. His love is unconditional and eternal.