Today, for whatever reason I woke up very depressed and in a down facing funk. Getting out of bed would have been debatable had I not had 4 little furry beings (my cats) bouncing back and forth across me demanding their breakfast. Ignoring them is not an option! LOL So I literally dragged my tired feeling, unhappy little self out of bed to feed them and start my day. Which of course, as always brings the morning chores of clean up, dishwasher emptying, litter box cleaning, mail sorting....And this gets me even more down. The day's "to do" list starts it's incessant shouting in my head before my feet even hit the floor. I'm sure many of you have heard the same old recording in your heads as you take care of life's little trivialities. "This is all I ever do....clean up, straighten up..." So on and so on. So my mood is sinking even faster at this point, all in the first ten minutes of rising from sleep!
And then the Lord gets involved. And thank Him for that!! I was reminded of something King David said: Psalm 42:5-6 Why am I discouraged? Why is my heart so sad? I will put my hope in God! I will praise him again—my Savior and my God! Now I am deeply discouraged, but I will remember you—even from distant Mount Hermon, the source of the Jordan, from the land of Mount Mizar. It was time to turn my focus upward. And I had to make the decision to do this, the choice to look upward instead of inward. God is so good. So involved. I am so grateful to have the Holy Spirit with me, living inside my heart to lift my head and remind me of God's Word.
So along with these verses I received some additional instruction on being thankful. My mission for the day is to find things to be thankful for (like I don't have a thousand of them at any given time). When I look downward I see nothing, when I look inward I see the despair that is trying to take hold of my heart. But when I look upward, when I look to my God and my Savior I am reminded that I am loved. Once I gain His perspective, I can look around me with new eyes to see the blessings. Right now, I am comfortable, and warm. I am in a home. I have clothing and comforts. I have a computer to communicate with others, especially this blog to share the Lord's blessings. The Lord is with me at this moment. I know I am loved. There is a peacefulness to the morning around me. And that is just sitting in one space looking around at the goodness of God's care. In less than a minute my heart has been filled with joy.
So the Lord is sending me on a treasure hunt today! Instead of wallowing in the feelings I woke up with, I will search for the jewels He leaves on my path, look at the blessings He has placed in my life and enjoy the sweet fellowship that comes from being His child. I can't tell you how just writing this has has uplifted me this morning and taken my focus off the fickle feelings of despair. What a wonderful God we serve!
I can only say thank You a thousand times Lord! You encourage me. You lift my heart! You teach me and lead me in the path of blessing and joy. Lord, help us to remind ourselves of You goodness, and look for the blessings in our lives instead of focusing on our feelings or our problems. We bring those things to You and trust Your care and solutions. Our feelings are real, our problems are real, but You are bigger than all of that. Lord help us to keep the right focus. Some days that is harder than others. Many times our situations don't change, but the way we face them can with Your help Lord. Gratitude is a wonderful medicine for what ails us. Keep me and all of us in that place. I am once again amazed at You. Thank You again. In the caring Name of Jesus. Amen
Go on a treasure hunt today!
Psalm 69:32 The humble will see their God at work and be glad. Let all who seek God’s help be encouraged.
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