Written reflections

A few years ago a popular daytime television host began promoting the idea of keeping a journal, recording in it all that you were thankful for that day. Ordinary things such as a phone call that came at the perfect time, receiving a thank-you card from a friend or even something as simple as getting all green lights on the way to work.

Whatever it was, you were to write it down. Knowing that a blank page awaited you at the end of the day created a sense of accountability with some residual effects. All of a sudden routine morning coffee began to taste fresher. People that you have seen every day for the past number of years seemed friendlier. The great change, however, was not in the routine but in how the eyes perceive the ordinary.

David became the second king in the history of Israel. His rise to this position took nearly 20 years of waiting for a divine promise to be fulfilled. The events throughout those decades were accompanied with a wide range of emotions, bouncing back and forth from depression and joy. Yet his faith that the Lord was greater than any momentary situation allowed him to proclaim, "Who am I and what am I that you have brought me this far?"

When we stop, even if it is just for a brief moment, and look upon our lives and consciously voice all God has done for us, the way we address and interpret our situations begins to look differently. We begin to see how God is more powerful over the problems we face. When we consciously look for what God has done, we become aware of his extraordinary activity in our ordinary lives. Challenges become opportunities for God. Disappointments are learning experiences in which God forms our character.

The road well-traveled is one that looks upon life. It bows to life's pressures. It broods and condemns. The life-giving, faith-building narrow road is one that praises the Lord for who he is and what he has done. Take time and honor him for all that he has taken you through. Wait with great expectation and enthusiasm for all that he is able to do.

Rob Hurtgen is a husband and father and serves as the associate pastor at the First Baptist Church in Jackson.