Where Do I Look?

I am back. I took a couple of weeks off. But now I’m back.

My son is a swimmer. He works hard at swimming, going to practice everyday. He was starting to get a little frustrated with his swim. He wasn’t dropping time at his meets and that was really frustrating him. One of his coaches called him aside to talk to him. She said she was watching his swim, and told him to make a tweak in his stroke. She said it would help him swim faster. He tried it and it did! One little tweak and it changed everything. He’s been swimming better than he has in a long time and dropping time.

I recently had to make a tweak in my own life. As many of you know, I have spent the past year struggling to find a job. I was walking through the valley, as God spent time speaking to me and guiding me. I had good days and bad days. I spent time reminding myself that God loved me, He knows my needs and He’s heard my prayers. That helped me a lot. But there were still times I didn’t quite remember that.

I’m kind of back into the job front. I have a job, but it’s temporary. It will end in a month. When I focus my eyes on the problem, I start to panic. I start to wonder where in the world I’ll find another job. I think and remember that I don’t want to feel badly about everything like I did last year. I don’t want to be in that place trying to find a job and getting no where, doubting myself.

And because I don’t want to feel badly again, I’ve made a little tweak in my thinking. Just a small change, but it has huge consequences. You’ve heard of the phrase, “Looking at the world with rose-colored glasses,” right? That means you look at the world and see only good, you don’t see the bad. My tweak has to do with the way I look at my problem now. And that has made all the difference. I don’t look at the problem with rose-colored glasses, but my tweak has to do with where I look.

Here’s my tweak. Instead of starring at the problem and letting worry and fear take over my brain, I look at God. I think about the fact that I’m His daughter. I remind myself that He knows the plans He has for me, plans for my welfare and not for calamity to give me a future and a hope. As I make this little tweak and stare at God rather than my problem, all the stress washes away. All the fear and worry leave me and I’m left with a sense of well-being, of hope.

Walking the Christian life isn’t easy, but it’s easier when God is your Father and He’s watching out for you. Believers are children of God. That’s what God calls us – His children. So Believer, if you are facing a problem, whatever it is, don’t look at the problem – it will only stress you out more. Look at God. See God for Who He is and all of your fear and worry will wash away. When we know God’s got our back, you can’t help feeling a sense of hope and peace. Change what you’re looking at!