How painfully humbling it is when the Lord points out how our concerns for our own well-being or the tending of our own wounds have caused us to look inward rather than fixing our eyes on Him. Though the journey inward and the examination of our own hearts is completely necessary, we must allow the Lord to venture there with us, for our emotions and desires can cast a cloudiness of confusion and interfere with the Lord's will. When our circumstances - busyness, stress, despair, confusion, guilt, even times of joy - cause us to remain fixed on us and our introspection, it's easy to lose sight of the God that is infinitely greater than us.
So often does the yearning to see His hand and blessings in our own lives inhibit us from seeing His brilliant works in the lives of others. As we subject our own lives to constant scrutiny and look only at what we have or don't have, our focus is averted from His goodness and His plans taking shape in the world around us.
My prayer is that the evaluation of our own lives cause us not to become immersed in self concern, but rather allow us to turn to Him immediately. Truly, it is not about us. Our lives and their concerns are nothing more than a vapor, a transitory and insignificant existence:
"Your life is like the morning fog - it's here a little while, then it's gone. What you ought to say is, "If the Lord wants us to we will live and do this or that."" -James 4:14-15 Our significance is only to live for Him, glorify Him and point to Him with our everything. While our lives are momentary, He will reign forever.
"My life passes by as swiftly as the evening shadows.
I am withering away like grass.
But you, O Lord, will sit on your throne forever.
Your fame will endure to every generation...
You are always the same;
you will live forever"
-Psalm 102:11-12,27
So let us live this fleeting life in awe and reverence for Him, not allowing our struggles and inward concerns to interfere with our gaze, only fixed on Him.
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