Tag: grateful

Grateful Perspective

Posted on by Rob Collins in Blog, Messages

attitude-of-gratitude

Perspective is an impression of how we mentally view someone or something. We all see things through the eyes that we see them through; but our mind and heart are filters that cause us to perceive what we see. When you see through eyes of hurt, frustration, fear, anger or doubt it determines not only what you see, but how you see. When I was a boy growing up there was a country and western song that said, “these rose colored glasses that I am looking through show only the beauty because they hide all the truth.” Sometimes what we see is determined by the lens we are looking through. When we see through “Rose Colored Glasses” every thing tends to look “Rosie” (every pun intended). Being grateful is a matter of perspective. It is also a choice. If you look long enough, hard enough and deep enough, you will find something to be grateful for.

What lens you choose to look through determines what you see. When you magnify something you see it as being bigger. It doesn’t get bigger it appears bigger. A magnifying lens makes the words on the page appear bigger, but if you were to look underneath the magnifying lens at the words on the page you will find they didn’t get any bigger although they appeared bigger while looking through the magnifying lens. Do you magnify your burdens or do you magnify your blessings? What you magnify matters! What you magnify becomes bigger. The writer says, “come let us magnify the Lord together.” Can we make God bigger? No. But could we see Him as being bigger? Yes. When magnify God we see Him as being bigger than our burdens. Again what you magnify matters! How you see things and the lens you see them through matters too.

Paul wrote a lot of the new testament; some of which he wrote while in prison. In Philippians 1 he says this: “I thank my God every time I remember you. In all my prayers for all of you, I always pray with joy. I am happy because you have joined me in spreading the good news. You have done so from the first day until now. I am sure that the One who began a good work in you will carry it on until it is completed. That will be on the day Christ Jesus returns. It is right for me to feel this way about all of you. I love you with all my heart. I may be held by chains, or I may be standing up for the truth of the good news. Either way, all of you share in God’s grace together with me. God can give witness that I long for all of you. I love you with the love that Christ Jesus gives. I pray that your love will grow more and more. And let it be based on knowledge and understanding. Then you will be able to know what is best. You will be pure and without blame until the day Christ returns. You will be filled with the fruit of right living produced by Jesus Christ. All of those things bring glory and praise to God.” You talk about a “Grateful Perspective!”

Here are 5 Things We Need to Remember When it Comes to Gratitude:

  • Be grateful and realize everything you have comes from God.

  • Be grateful and don’t take anything or anyone for granted.

  • Be grateful for what you have even if it’s not all you need.

  • Be grateful for what you have even if it’s not what you want.

  • Be grateful for the broken pieces of the process that someday will produce the full picture.

Gratefulness unleashes the generosity of God. Gratitude is a choice. Perspective is what you choose to see. What you choose to see will produce gratefulness or grieving – burdens or blessings. God knows what you need. He wants to know if you are grateful for what you have. What lens are you looking through? See  through eyes of gratefulness and it  will begin to change your perspective. You can can see with your heart what you will never see with your eyes. Magnify the Lord! See life through the lens of gratefulness and watch what happens. I believe you will develop like Paul, a “Grateful Perspective.”

Insignifanct Compared To My Need

Posted on by Rob Collins in Messages

The widow in II Kings went to Elijah asking for help. Her husband had died and left her with a debt she couldn’t pay. She needed money. What she had was a little bit of oil. The man to whom the money was owed was going to take her sons as slaves if the debt could not be paid in full. She was the widow of a prophet so she goes to a prophet to ask for help. But before Elijah did anything to help, he asked her a question: “what do you have in your house?” She replied, “absolutely nothing!’ …”except for a little oil.” You see what she had seemed insignificant when she compared it to what she needed. What she needed was a “whole lot” of money what she had was a “little bit” of oil. Don’t ever underestimate what you have! Especially when God gets involved.

It’s an interesting question coming from a prophet to a widow and it is an interesting answer considering she said she didn’t have anything, except for a little oil. Now when we say we don’t have anything we usually mean we don’t have anything. But for most of us it’s not that we don’t have anything; it’s that we don’t have what we desire. When what you have is not what you desire it will be overlooked and seen as nothing. What she had she didn’t value as significant because it wasn’t what she needed. What she needed was a lot of money. What she had was a little bit of oil. Mike Murdock says, “if what you have is not what you need it must be your seed.” Your seed will look like “absolutely nothing” until you begin to sow it by pouring out of what you already have. Then it will grow and exceed your need. The widow had a “seed” of oil and when she began pouring out of what she had God exceeded her need.

This story is interesting in so many ways. First of all instead of the prophet just helping – he first asked her what she had in her house. Most of us would have taken for granted she didn’t have anything. While others of us would have helped her without any questions being asked at all. Then to top it all off when he found out she had a little oil he still doesn’t help her but instead he proceeds to tell her to go to her neighbors and ask them for some empty jars. After collecting all the jars should could find the prophet then instructs her to begin pouring into those jars. So she did. She began pouring out of what she already had. She began pouring from what she called earlier: “ABSOLUTELY NOTHING.”

The oil didn’t start flowing until she started pouring. But the “little bit” of nothing she had kept flowing until it had filled all the jars she had collected. Then the oil stopped. It didn’t stop until the containers she had were filled. God didn’t exceed her capacity to receive, but He exceeded her need. I believe if she had more jars she might still be pouring today. The other thing is the oil started flowing when she started pouring out of what she had. The jars didn’t automatically fill themselves, and the jar she had didn’t fill up before she started pouring. You may be waiting on God to give you more, or to give you what you desire, but He might be waiting on you to recognize what you have as being significant so you will begin pouring it out for Him, to exceed your need while blessing those around you.

She had a “little bit” of oil but what she needed was a “whole lot” of money. What seemed insignifanct, God used in a supernatural way. The writer tells us that she had enough oil to pay off her husband’s debt with enough left over for her and her sons to live on. Here’s the passage: II Kings Chapter 4 “Elisha and the Widow’s Oil” – “A certain woman of the wives of the sons of the prophets cried out to Elisha, saying, “Your servant my husband is dead, and you know that your servant feared the Lord. And the creditor is coming to take my two sons to be his slaves.” So Elisha said to her, “ What shall I do for you? Tell me, what do you have in the house?” And she said, “Your maidservant has nothing in the house but a jar of oil.”
Then he said, “ Go, borrow vessels from everywhere, from all your neighbors — empty vessels; do not gather just a few. And when you have come in, you shall shut the door behind you and your sons; then pour it into all those vessels, and set aside the full ones.” So she went from him and shut the door behind her and her sons, who brought the vessels to her; and she poured it out. Now it came to pass, when the vessels were full, that she said to her son, “ Bring me another vessel.”
And he said to her, “ There is not another vessel.” So the oil ceased. Then she came and told the man of God. And he said, “ Go, sell the oil and pay your debt; and you and your sons live on the rest.”

Here are 5 Things We Can Learn from this Passage:

1. God supernaturally accomplished what the widow could not do herself.

2. God exceeded her need.

3. The miracle started with what didn’t seem signifiant.

4. She poured out of what she had and God exceeded what she needed.

5. What she had was more than enough when God got involved.

We must learn to be thankful for what we have… Develop an attitude of gratitude… Begin pouring out of what you have. What you have is your seed. What you desire God to do is your need. Be thankful for what you have and watch God exceed your need!