Genesis 33: 5-12: “And he lifted up his eyes, and saw the women and the children; and said, Who are those with thee? And he said, The children which God hath graciously given thy servant. Then the handmaidens came near, they and their children, and they bowed themselves. And Leah also with her children came near, and bowed themselves: and after came Joseph near and Rachel, and they bowed themselves. And he said, What meanest thou by all this drove which I met? And he said, These are to find grace in the sight of my lord. And Esau said, I have enough, my brother; keep that thou hast unto thyself. And Jacob said, Nay, I pray thee, if now I have found grace in thy sight, then receive my present at my hand: for therefore I have seen thy face, as though I had seen the face of God, and thou wast pleased with me. Take, I pray thee, my blessing that is brought to thee; because God hath dealt graciously with me, and because I have enough. And he urged him, and he took it. And he said, Let us take our journey, and let us go, and I will go before thee.”
Life is always influenced by the way we perceive things. This is not always just a simple matter of choosing what perspective we have because we are conditioned by our circumstances as well. Some people tend to see things from the “glass half empty” perspective while others tend to see things from the “glass half full” perspective. There are voices inside our heads that repeat things that we were told during our childhood and it is very hard to turn these voices off. Our mother’s mental state at the time of our birth and the first few months of our lives can also affect the way we look at life; depression can run in families. This fact is illustrated here: Jacob looked at his life and his possessions and saw that he had been badly treated and was lucky to have the few things that he had even though he had to fight very hard to get anything at all. Esau saw Jacob’s entourage and possessions and thought that he had done very well for himself. However, Jacob did understand one very important fact of life, God had graciously given him everything that he had. The Lord God made each one of us and understands the way we work, as a creature made in His own image and individually. He knows that some people have a dark perspective on life while others don’t. However, He had made it possible for every person, who trusts in God, to rise about their mood and find peace and joy. In Isaiah 26: 3 (Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on thee: because he trusteth in thee.”) and Phil 4: 6, 7 (“Be careful for nothing; but in every thing by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God. And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.”) We have our Maker’s instructions to give us a clue. If we focus on God and all the things that He has done for us; from making us, to saving us from our sins, to promising to come back to take us to be with Him for ever. We can have the peace of God which passeth all understanding keeping our hearts and our minds in Christ Jesus. This way the glass is always completely full.
(The view expressed in this blog are my own and should not be taken as inspired in any way.)
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