Re-Blog: Which Lens? (Orig Posted 9/13/2020)

I have posted Niki's Thoughts across various platforms over the years. For a while, I used an old feature on Facebook called "Notes." Sadly, Facebook has done away with Notes making it impossible for me to share them easily. And I'm not sure if anyone besides me can even find them online. The below came up in my "Memories" on my personal page, as a share from my Niki's Thoughts FB page. It touched me to reread it so I felt drawn to re-blog it here, hopefully making it easier for all y'all to find and to share if you feel led to do so...


“My brethren, count it all joy when you fall into various trials, knowing that the testing of your faith produces patience. But let patience have its perfect work, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking nothing.” James 1:2-4

I read a devotional this morning, Day One of a seven day plan called, “Restoration,” by Lecrae. Lecrae wrote, “Instead of interpreting our faith through the lens of suffering, we are encouraged to look at our suffering through the lens of faith.” The above verses in James were included as part of today’s reading. It all hit me pretty hard. I have definitely been using the wrong lens lately!

It’s pretty easy, when you’re in the midst of everything that is going on right now, to fall into a place of despair. Feeling overwhelmed is common. Wishing, hoping, and wanting for things we used to have, or the way things used to be seems to be the theme of this year. In the blink of an eye, our world changed. We had no warning, no time to prepare. Right?

What if we’re just looking through the wrong lens? What if God has been preparing us, for this season of our lives, all along? He is pushing us to lean on each other, but more importantly to shelter fully in Him. Look at His promises! Revelation 21:4 tells us, “and God will wipe away every tear from their eyes; there shall be no more death, nor sorrow, nor crying. There shall be no more pain...” There is a promised land, the likes of which we cannot fathom, waiting for us! Our Savior is preparing a place for us there!

Picture a jungle or a forest, extremely rugged terrain, overgrown with brush and weeds...then, our Guide steps in front of us, offers His hand, and leads us through the worst of it. Maybe it takes a short while. Maybe it takes days, weeks, months, with lots of stops to rest. But then, just when we feel like giving up, when it feels we can’t fight through one more step on this treacherous path...paradise. Maybe it’s a crystal clear lake with a cascading waterfall, humidity and temperature completely perfect, clear blue skies. Or maybe it’s a white sands beach, waves lapping the shore that come from as far as the eye can see, palm trees swaying with the gentle breeze. Whatever you picture, I promise you that our Father is preparing something much more incredible for all of us!

So, the next time we feel overwhelmed, the next time life feels too hard, the next time we feel broken, shattered, abandoned, or any other desperate emotion, let’s check what lens we are viewing our circumstances with. Spend some time with God. It could be in prayer. Or maybe in hymns. Turn on the Christian radio channel and dance around the house. Or maybe we just sit quietly, ask God to flood us with His calming Spirit. However we spend time with God, I bet we will be looking through a different lens when we have used that time to allow God to shift our focus to Him.

Would you pray with me?

Heavenly Father, sometimes the sin and evil in this world overwhelm me. Please forgive me for dwelling in despair and allowing the wrong lens to filter my life. Help me to use the lens of faith, the lens of Your promises to find joy in every day and every situation. Thank You for never giving up on me. Amen.

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