The Day God Desires for You

When an author starts to write, he must choose the place from which he sees his characters.  It’s called ‘point of view.’ Will he be the all-knowing narrator? Will he take the voice and eyes of one of his characters, limiting what he knows and sees to that person’s part in the story?   A photographer also chooses his perspective. From what place will she choose to capture that moment?  Zoomed in tight, wide lens taking in the full scene?  With too little context a photo becomes uninteresting.  Without detail, the photo is just another picture.

On this Monday morning, let’s think of our point of view. How are we ‘writing our story’ today?  What voice are we taking?  Or to shift the metaphor, what/who will be the focus of our picture?

I believe the Lord prepares blessings for us for each day, but sometimes we miss them because we ignore Him or get focused on the wrong things! 

You could start out this week full of angst, absorbed by some problem.  You could begin in anger, remembering the person who has done your wrong, your tight focus on your pain  obscuring the dozens of people who walk with you. You could start in doubt, arguing with God over that situation that confounds your understanding.  How the Tempter must rejoice when he finds us focused on our failures, disappointments, or sins to the exclusion of the faithfulness of our Savior and Friend.

When the disciples first experienced God’s power, they got giddy over their new-found spiritual authority.  Jesus told them to adjust their point of view:  “don’t rejoice just because evil spirits obey you; rejoice because your names are registered as citizens of heaven.” (Luke 10:20, NLT) He reminds them (and us) that if our joy must not rest on our successes, even those of spiritual nature.  Our real joy finds a solid foundation on what God does for us!  The Message says it like this: "All the same, the great triumph is not in your authority over evil, but in God’s authority over you and presence with you. Not what you do for God but what God does for you—that’s the agenda for rejoicing.” (Luke 10:20, The Message)

If you want to live the day that God desires for you – one of peace, joy – you will find it beyond the circumstances, good or bad, that will be part of the day.   The Word urges "Praise the Lord, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits." (Psalm 103:2, NIV)   Get the right focus. Adopt God’s point of view!  "He forgives your sins—every one. He heals your diseases—every one. He redeems you from hell—saves your life! He crowns you with love and mercy—a paradise crown. He wraps you in goodness—beauty eternal. He renews your youth—you’re always young in his presence." (Psalm 103:3-5, The Message)

Real praise, authentic worship, flows out of the faith that takes each day and sets it in the context of eternity, in the hands of a God whose ‘ways are higher than our ways.”   To be sure the Lord does not ask us to deny reality, to live in a Pollyanna world that pretends all is well, all the time. He does ask us to bring to our minds His faithfulness, His love, His promises.  An old gospel song that urges us to live in “Beulah Land.”  Beulah is a translation of a Hebrew word meaning “married.” It is a metaphor for a blessed life, a whole one, a fruitful one.  It is an oblique reference to being God’s Bride, living in His love and protection. In many Sunday night church services I sang “Beulah Land” without a clue, but today this old song is an anthem!

Far away the noise of strife
upon my ear is falling.
Then, I know the sins of earth
beset on ev'ry hand.
Doubt and fear and things of earth
in vain to me are calling.
None of these shall move me
from Beulah Land!

Viewing here the works of God,
I sink in contemplation.
Hearing now His blessed voice,
I see the way He planned.
Dwelling in the Spirit,
here I learn of full salvation.
Gladly will I tarry in Beulah Land!

I'm living on the mountain,
underneath a cloudless sky!
I'm drinking at the fountain
that never shall run dry!
O yes, I'm feasting on the manna
from a bountiful supply!
For I am dwelling in Beulah Land.

C. Austin Miles- Public domain

Now, from your secure place in His love, go live the life He plans for you. "And I pray that Christ will be more and more at home in your hearts as you trust in him. May your roots go down deep into the soil of God’s marvelous love. And may you have the power to understand, as all God’s people should, how wide, how long, how high, and how deep his love really is. May you experience the love of Christ, though it is so great you will never fully understand it. Then you will be filled with the fullness of life and power that comes from God." (Ephesians 3:17-19, NLT)

(it’s not everybody’s cup ‘o tea, but if you like Southern Gospel here’s a link to that old song – Dwelling In Beulah Land)