Blindness

This morning I found it particularly hard to get out of bed this morning. I woke to this beautiful bird singing to the sunrise and the thought that God's mercy and grace renews everyday, but it was the thought of facing another day that was difficult. Anther day to think and think and think about my hsuband and my life now and what's to come. Very scary...

But I began to pray for him. Yesterday's church service was about having a renewed mind and seeing God for who he is and where he is. The Message Bible puts it this way:

"So here's what I want you to do, God helping you: Take your everyday, ordinary life—your sleeping, eating, going-to-work, and walking-around life—and place it before God as an offering. Embracing what God does for you is the best thing you can do for him. Don't become so well-adjusted to your culture that you fit into it without even thinking. Instead, fix your attention on God. You'll be changed from the inside out. Readily recognize what he wants from you, and quickly respond to it. Unlike the culture around you, always dragging you down to its level of immaturity, God brings the best out of you, develops well-formed maturity in you."

This, I think, really speaks to me and where I am in life. My husbands mind needs to be renewed daily, but mine does too. He doesn't realize what is going on right now. He doesn't understand it and doesn't understand why he is feeling this way. I began to pray that his mind be renewed and that he would begin to see God all around him and feel him in everything he does. But I, too, need to see and feel God in my life. I need my mind renewed daily. I am human and I tend to focus on the world and what is going on around me in my daily life.

But this verse also ties into 2 Corinthians 4:18:
"So we're not giving up. How could we! Even though on the outside it often looks like things are falling apart on us, on the inside, where God is making new life, not a day goes by without his unfolding grace. These hard times are small potatoes compared to the coming good times, the lavish celebration prepared for us. There's far more here than meets the eye. The things we see now are here today, gone tomorrow. But the things we can't see now will last forever. "

I need to focus on what is happening behind the scenes. Whenever life feels like it is getting too out of control or unbearable, I need to take comfort that in the hardest times of life, that is where and when things begin to grow and change. That is when the best change of all comes from and it come straight from God. At that time, I need to bear down and just get through it and thank God for choosing me and my husband to got through this as a couple. Something great is going to come out of this whole ordeal. RESTORATION! Just like Job was restored, so will our marriage.

Focus on the unseen... It's what really matters. Look beyond today. See what tomorrow will bring...

My prayer today comes from a great song sang by Hillsong. It's called "From the Inside Out" and the lyrics are this:

A thousand times I've failed
Still your mercy remains
And should I stumble again
Still I'm caught in your grace
Everlasting, Your light will shine when all else fades
Never ending, Your glory goes beyond all fame
In my heart, in my soul, Lord I give you controlConsume me from the inside out Lord
Let justice and praise become my embrace
To love You from the inside out
Your will above all else, my purpose remains
The art of losing myself in bringing you praise
Everlasting, Your light will shine when all else fades
Never ending, Your glory goes beyond all fame
In my heart, in my soul, Lord I give you control
Consume me from the inside out Lord
Let justice and praise become my embrace
To love You from the inside outChorus
Everlasting, Your light will shine when all else fadesNever ending, Your glory goes beyond all fameAnd the cry of my heart is to bring You praise
From the inside out Lord, my soul cries out

Lord, change me from the inside out. Even though I can't see the inside, change it. Make it yours to bring you glory and honor. I am willing to be made willing. Even though I can't see it, I trust you and your plan you have for my life.