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Turn your face to the sun and the shadows fall behind you. –Maori proverb
Translation: Turn your face to the Son and the shadows fall behind you. “The lamp of the body is the eye; if therefore your eye is clear, your whole body will be full of light.” (Mt 6:22)
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Have you noticed how people respond differently to life? Some people maintain their faith and their smile in the midst of trials, while others crumble and mumble when they hit a small bump in the road. We’re encouraged by positive people, but it is draining to be around those who view life negatively and murmur and complain.
Likewise, those who respond with faith and a positive attitude experience more joy in life and in their relationships with others. Much of life is beyond our control. We can’t avoid struggles, but we can choose our response to them.
There is a secret for keeping a positive attitude in the midst of trials—a secret that leads to a sincere faith and positive attitude, not a pasted on smile that wears thin through the day.
The key is your eyes.
Jesus said, “The lamp of the body is the eye; if therefore your eye is clear, your whole body will be full of light” (Mt. 6:22). When your body is full of light, you view life with hope and expectancy. You are a joy to be around. Others are energized when they’re with you.
In contrast, Jesus says, “If your eye is bad, your whole body will be full of darkness” (v. 23). Darkness overwhelms you, making it difficult to keep plodding. Everything about life seems negative and it’s a struggle to maintain hope.
That sounds simple. A clear eye—one full of light—brings a positive attitude. An eye full of darkness brings discouragement, hopelessness, and despair. But how do you make your eyes clear?
We take in our surroundings through our eyes, and we focus on what interests us. We are somewhat aware of the periphery, but the direction that our eyes point reveals our focus.
The eyes funnel the view into our mind. If we look at light, light is funneled through our eyes and our whole body is full of light. If we look at darkness, our body will fill with darkness.
It is our choice what we look at, and that choice has a direct effect on our disposition, because the eyes are one of our primary connections with the world around us.
Imagine yourself in a difficult situation. Where do your eyes go?
Do they look on how hard life is? Does your mind continue to relive the pain? Dwell on the what ifs? Persist in worrying about tomorrow? Do you feel hopeless and alone? If that’s what is going through your mind, you’re focused on darkness. Your soul will be overwhelmed by discouragement. Continue to focus on such and you will become hopeless and fill with despair.
Instead, focus your eyes on light, on the Lord and truths from His Word. “God is light, and in Him there is no darkness at all” (1 Jo. 1:5). Focus on the truth that Jesus is with you. He said, “I am with you always, even to the end of the age” (Mt. 28:20). Furthermore, His grace is sufficient because His power will be made known in your weakness (2 Cor. 12:9).
Our hope and expectancy are dashed if we continue to look at trying circumstances, but will be built up if we look at the truth of God’s Word.
For a time—the hardest years of my life, even though I knew the Lord and was trying hard to walk in righteousness—I walked in darkness. I kept analyzing myself and my circumstances trying to figure out what went wrong. I kept my eyes on the problem, trying to find a solution—and great was the darkness. Relationships crumbled around me, and I spiraled deeper and deeper into despair.
When I quit looking at the problem and began focusing on the Lord and on His truth, light came into my life.
We choose where we focus our eyes. If you are accustomed to looking at the problem, it takes effort to switch your focus, but the light will not come in as long as you look at darkness.
I’ve walked in the light and I’ve walked in darkness—and the light is most definitely better!
What do you do to help maintain a positive attitude while you are in the midst of a trial?
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Aim at heaven and you will get earth thrown in. Aim at earth and you get neither.
—C.S. LewisMany people in our midst were born after 9/11/01 or were too young at the time to remember it now. They’re memory will be formed by what they hear. However, Those who remember 9/11 will never forget. It seems like only yesterday that we sat glued to the TV, overwhelmed with horror and disbelief. Over the years, the emotion of those hours continues to rise when we pause to remember. Pictures and emotions are embedded in our memories too deeply to fade quickly.
While watching news reports of memorial services, along with pictures, testimonies, and reports of that historic day, I think of the cliché, “forgive and forget.” As individuals, families, and a nation, we were wronged. We were intentionally attacked by terrorist, and the loss was terrific. As a nation, we make a point to not forget.
And yet, we need to forgive. The direct perpetrators died in the attacks. Our forgiveness won’t mean a thing to them, but it is a must for us. If we don’t forgive, bitterness and anger will destroy our souls. It will also affect our relationships with God and others. If we don’t forgive, the harm perpetrated will continue to destroy us.
But forget? We dare not forget. If we forget, we will have learned nothing and will remain vulnerable. The enemy, though illusive, is still intent on our destruction. We must not forget. Instead, we need to be wise, cautious, and remain alert for further attempts on our lives.
Indeed, since 9/11/01 much has changed. We are alert and are constantly developing new ways to thwart future attacks. But we all know our security is not fail proof. We are still vulnerable.
It seems to me that as a nation, we have failed at the most crucial point. We forget that our battle is against principalities and powers, not against flesh and blood. We depend on security systems, drones, and missiles—i.e. in the horses and chariots of our day.
Isaiah said, “Woe to those who go down to Egypt for help, and rely on horses, and trust in chariots because they are many, and in horsemen because they are very strong, but they do not look to the Holy One of Israel, nor seek the Lord!” (31:1).
Horses, chariots, security systems, drones, and missiles are not bad. It is not wrong to defend ourselves. However, when we trust in our own defenses, they will fail us.
In contrast, the Lord is faithful. Furthermore, He will defend us if we trust in and call on Him. I pray that as we remember the the atrocities and the lives lost, that we will also think to pray and to cry out to God to be our bulwark and shelter from evil.
“How great is Thy goodness, which Thou hast stored up for those who fear Thee, which Thou hast wrought for those who take refuge in Thee, before the sons of men! Thou dost hide them in the secret place of Thy presence from the conspiracies of man” (Ps. 31:19-20).
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Last week I spent much of my time preparing for a speaking trip to Washington in early October. I will be using a different outline than in the past to share how God showed me my anger problem and gave me answers to find freedom. The change of format has led me to reconsider—and thus relive—my journey. The process has been sobering.
First, seeing how much darkness was in my heart and how slow I was to see it has led me to question whether or not I should be allowed to speak. The judgment and bitterness that I kept buried and hidden were eating me alive and destroying my relationships. Me speak on anger?
As if that weren’t enough, at the time I was unaware that I had a problem. I suffered deep depression. I was a victim. But I thought it was because of my situation and the actions of those around me—particularly of my husband, but not limited to him.
I was on the verge of a nervous breakdown—or maybe I had a walking breakdown, if there is such. But the real problem wasn’t my circumstances or the people around me, it was my own sin and self-righteousness that kept me from hearing God.
As I’ve prepared to speak, I’ve asked, who am I to talk? Why would anybody want to hear me?
Then I knew the answer.
Why? Because our God is a redeeming God. He takes us out of the darkness, brings us into the Light, and transforms us into His likeness. We are made new in Him so that we can shine for Him.
Not that I’m fully transformed, but I am in the process. The Lord shone His light into the dark corners of my heart. He revealed what separated me from Him and from those I love. He then forgave me and has walked—and continues to walk—with me on the path of transformation.
He saved and delivered me, and I’ll be forever grateful. I’ve known the darkness of despair that comes from relationships that don’t relate. I also know the joy of fellowship, communion, and intimacy when the connections aren’t clogged with sin and darkness.
Most importantly, I know the Source for rooting out those things that clog the line. That’s why I have something to share.
It really has nothing to do with me, it’s all about the Lord. I simply share what I see and experience of the manifested life of a God who redeems.
Our God is a Redeeming God
Last week I spent much of my time preparing for a speaking trip to Washington in early October. I will be using a different outline than in the past to share how God showed me my anger problem and gave me answers to find freedom. The change of format has led me to reconsider—and thus relive—my journey. The process has been sobering.
First, seeing how much darkness was in my heart and how slow I was to see it has led me to question whether or not I should be allowed to speak. The judgment and bitterness that I kept buried and hidden were eating me alive and destroying my relationships. Me speak on anger?
As if that weren’t enough, at the time I was unaware that I had a problem. I suffered deep depression. I was a victim. But I thought it was because of my situation and the actions of those around me—particularly of my husband, but not limited to him.
I was on the verge of a nervous breakdown—or maybe I had a walking breakdown, if there is such. But the real problem wasn’t my circumstances or the people around me, it was my own sin and self-righteousness that kept me from hearing God.
As I’ve prepared to speak, I’ve asked, who am I to talk? Why would anybody want to hear me?
Then I knew the answer.
Why? Because our God is a redeeming God. He takes us out of the darkness, brings us into the Light, and transforms us into His likeness. We are made new in Him so that we can shine for Him.
Not that I’m fully transformed, but I am in the process. The Lord shone His light into the dark corners of my heart. He revealed what separated me from Him and from those I love. He then forgave me and has walked—and continues to walk—with me on the path of transformation.
He saved and delivered me, and I’ll be forever grateful. I’ve known the darkness of despair that comes from relationships that don’t relate. I also know the joy of fellowship, communion, and intimacy when the connections aren’t clogged with sin and darkness.
Most importantly, I know the Source for rooting out those things that clog the line. That’s why I have something to share.
It really has nothing to do with me, it’s all about the Lord. I simply share what I see and experience of the manifested life of a redeeming God.
How have you seen new opportunities because of God’s redemption?
You can leave a comment by clicking here.
Consider how much more you often suffer from your anger and grief, than from those very things for which you are angry and grieved.
—Marcus AntoniusI say to every man among you not to think more highly of himself than he ought to think; but to think so as to have sound judgment.
—Rom. 12:3
Video: why managing anger isn't enough
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