My thoughts this morning are focused on Psalm 123:1-2,
To You I lift up my eyes,
O You who are enthroned in the heavens!
Behold, as the eyes of servants look to the hand of their master,
As the eyes of a maid to the hand of her mistress,
So our eyes look to the Lord our God,
Until He is gracious to us.
I suppose it is because this is the month of November that I am thinking about all that I have been given from the hand of the Lord-my thoughts are filled with thanksgiving. As I thought about the lines, “as the eyes of servants look to the hand of their master, as the eyes of a maid to the hand of her mistress” I thought about what they were saying-everything a servant had came from the hand of their master. If they were to have food and clothing it was given to them by their masters. In the same way, everything I have has been given to me by my Lord. That penny I found on the street? Even that? What good is it? Let me tell you about a man that attended the church of my youth. My mom was the treasurer for a time and this is how I learned of what this man did. He was a retired fellow on a very limited income and he went for a walk every morning. On his walks he picked up all of the change he found along the way. On Sundays there would be an envelope full of this change in the collection plate. My mom often grumbled about the time it took to count and double check all of those coins, yet every week there would be between 5 and 10 dollars-sometimes more-rarely less. Still does not seem like much, but over the course of the year he gave approximately 100 dollars just by picking up those pennies. (They were not all pennies of course, but you get my meaning) He did not walk past them because it was just a penny, he picked them up and gathered them together to give them to the work of ministry that the church was doing.
Little or small God gives it all-so we give Him the glory. Do we give thanks for all that He provides, not just material goods, but the rain, and the snow, and the ants, and the midges (that is a local issue that gives us much grief but without their part in the ecosystem part of what makes our area unique would not exist as it does- I will try to remember that next summer when my windshield is so plastered with bugs that I cannot see where I am going.) Really, the list will just go on and on. And then there are those things that we experience such as forgiveness, and grace, and mercy, unfailing love and strength and peace and comfort-the people He brings into our lives, even the prickly ones. You know, another thing that comes from the Master’s hand is our work assignment. Have I thought about being thankful for that too? For the work He has given me to do?
I lift up my eyes to the Lord who is enthroned in heaven above! As the eyes of a servant to the hand of their master, so my eyes look to the Lord my God who is ever gracious unto me.
Grace, Peace, and Mercy,