It is very easy for us to talk about the problems and challenges that we face before we talk about what is good in our lives. We complain about the rain or the snow or the wind, which we cannot control, before we talk about a beautiful sunny day. We talk about our aches and pains before we talk about the joy of waking up and having a new day. We talk about the people in our lives who hurt us before we talk about the people in our lives who have been kind to us. We listen to all the bad news before we hear any good news.
This happens in our prayer lives to God as well. Often, we start with the shopping list of all the things we want God to do for us to help us before we praise him and thank him for all that he has done for us. Sometimes we don’t even get to that latter part.
Now I know, for many, I have overstated the point and perhaps some of you have learned the lesson of our picture and are doing that far better than I am. But there are many times that I need to be reminded to look for and talk far more about the blessings in my life that God and others have given to me than the problems, or difficulties or challenges in my life that do not come from God or even others. When we allow those problems to be the focus, we allow them to rob us of the joy of life in the Lord. We allow ourselves to miss the blessings that come our way. We need to stop focusing on the problems of life and look for all of the blessings we have no matter how small and seemingly insignificant. Paul wrote that “our present sufferings are not worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed in us,” when Christ returns. (Romans 8.18) But, that glory even begins now as we live in Christ.
And so, let us stop looking down and start looking up. Let our focus in life be on the blessings and not the problems. Let our conversations be centered on the positives and not the negatives. Remember the sun will come out tomorrow, but the Son is always shining and raining down blessings on us every day.
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