This morning I woke up in quite a good mood....with the lyrics to this song in my head:
Precious Lord, take my hand
Lead me on, help me stand
I am tired
I am weak
I am worn
Through the storm,
Through the night
Lead me on to the light
Take my hand, precious lord
Lead me home
My first thought was "I'm feeling just fine right now..so why am I waking up with lyrics to a song about feeling tired,weak,and worn? This was definitely not the song of choice I wanted stuck in my head all day.
Then, as I was reading my Bible this same morning, I read the following verse:
If in this life only we have hope in Christ, we are of all men most miserable.~1 Cor.15:19
Paul, the writer of the above scripture, experienced ALOT of bad things in his life, much of which is recorded in 2 Corinthians 11:22-33. As shown in the verse above though, he realized that in the big picture of things it just didn't matter. He admitted that if he was just thinking about the present, the life he had experienced here on earth, and not the glorious eternity God has promised those who serve him, he would be most miserable. Not just miserable, but the most miserable of ALL men.....and after reading 2 Corinthians 11, who can blame him?!!! (On a side note, I have decided that from now on when I'm having a "bad day" I'm reading this chapter to keep things in perspective. :-)
The point:
It's ok to sometimes feel tired, weak, and worn. We are all human. We all sometimes wake up "on the wrong side of the bed" for what seems like absolutely no reason. The important thing is that our focus is right and that it never changes---
70 years vs. eternity....
Where and with whom have you placed your hope?
I remember many years ago as a Bible quizzer sitting on the bed in my grandma's house in the mountains of West Virginia late on Christmas Eve night memorizing verses for the soon starting season..... I remember this particular moment because I remember how quickened in my Spirit I felt as I memorized the verses below:
For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first: Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord. Wherefore comfort one another with these words. ~1 Thess. 4:16-18
It's like I felt God saying "Hope in this. Remember this. Focus on this...This is what it's all about. Don't forget it."
This morning when I was thinking about how Paul said he would be "of all men most miserable", I began to think about "When am I the most miserable?" I am the most miserable when I take the blinders off..when I choose judgement or justice toward others over mercy...when I begin to look at people or circumstances through the world's eyes, rather than through Gods. I am the most miserable when I take my eyes off Christ and the promise of eternity in Heaven and turn my focus towards anything that is not eternal.
Thankfully we do not have hope in Christ in this life only. We have an eternal hope!
Through the storm,
Through the night
Lead me on to the light
Take my hand, precious lord
Lead me home!
