How Great Are the Little Things!

Do you want to live an unsatisfied life?  Then believe that you need everything that our enlightened modern society tells us is needed.  In that lie, you will find all the unfulfillment you could ever not want.   So, often I find myself falling into the trap of thinking if I cannot have my cake and eat it, too, then I have room for unrest. I’m like the kid in the store who reaches for all the colorful tooth aches displayed on the shelves.  While, in moments of maturity I nod my head in agreement to the sage and common sense wisdom shared in (Prov. 15:17):  I mean, who wouldn’t prefer a dish of vegetables where love is versus a rich meal served with hatred?  Right? Unfortunately, common sense pales to common desires.   

The word “depress” means to lower, weaken, to demoralize and discourage.  By focusing on what we don’t need, we depress the things that will strengthen and uplift us.  Does it matter, then, how attractive the “don’ts” are, if the pursuit of them makes us feel bad.  On the other hand, what if we were to pursue those things which truly bring us joy? And, if you get extra on top, then that’s not a bad deal either!  But, neither will its presence or abandonment determine your joy. I’ve learned that the pursuit of the hype offered nothing truly satisfying for me.  But, it is only when I have allowed God to show me what my unique needs are–the specific needs I require in order to thrive–it’s then that I have found lasting satisfaction.  Not one of us is built to be redundant.  We’re not built to be the same, and neither will our needs be met by the picture-perfect solutions spit out of the contemporary (assembly) line of thought.When I have been honest enough to admit that I can do without many things, but require a certain few, I have been able to set that standard with confidence; and never has God not delivered on producing something good, secure, fulfilling and meaningful to lil ol’ me.  And, as a matter of fact, He’s always blessed me beyond what I asked for.  Even so, it would be so easy to throw the baby out with the bathwater when the negatives make themselves known.But, if I learn to identify the right things and the right things don’t change, then why should my gratitude for them diminish? Am I so fickle?  Could I change so much that even my most basic needs are forgotten and exchanged for a new set?  Yeah.In the Bible there were two men, Moses and Jacob who grew up with one perspective only to have life experiences bring them to a place where God could open their hearts to who He’d created them to be.  Through knowing Him, and accepting His will for their lives they came to really know who they were and realized what great things they could do with a very little, if it was a little that was blessed by God. We can “center” ourselves and become Ohm with the universe as much as we want, but until we get to know the One who knows us better than we know ourselves, we will never get to the center of our desires.  Only through Jesus Christ can we navigate that pathway through our emotional detachments, our unforgiveness for others and ourselves, our pessimism, our unrealized weaknesses and all the other weeds and rocks and tumbles that hinder our view of where we’re headed.  He’s our guide.  And, He guides us to being okay with the wonderfully irreplaceable person that you are.  And, to the distinct needs that fulfill remarkable you.