Glass Half Full or Half Empty?

I wonder how you perceive situations in your life – whether you try to see things from God’s perspective, even when there are difficulties; whether you tend to see the glass as half full rather than half empty. I was challenged by the Lord recently on this, as I’ve been continuing to adjust to being single again, after my husband went to be with the Lord. I realised that I’d started to focus on the things I no longer had or could no longer do. I’d been thinking about what I was missing, rather than the blessings I had. I was seeing the ‘glass’ of my life as half empty, rather than half full!

The Lord showed me that He had, of course, always known about this season of my life. It was no surprise to Him! And He has good things prepared for me (Ephesians 2:10), as He has for all believers. Rather than thinking about what was missing, I started to thank God for this season and what He has for me, thinking about all the fullness that He is wanting to pour into the ‘glass’ of my life. As I did this, my attitude changed, and my joy returned.

This reminded me of the time when Moses sent a leader from each of the tribes of Israel to spy out the land before they entered it (Numbers 13). They returned with samples of the abundant fruit they found there, reporting that the land did indeed ‘flow with milk and honey’ (Numbers 13:27). However, ten of the leaders were so focused on the negatives, seeing the people there as giants and themselves as grasshoppers, that they failed to recognise God’s provision for them and the victory that was theirs. Only Caleb and Joshua believed that God could defeat their enemies and bring them into the Promised Land, and as a consequence they were the only ones who did enter in.

I wonder how many of us miss out on the blessings God has for us because we’re so focused on the negatives of our situation. We can become full of self-pity, absorbed with ourselves and our feelings, as well as the difficulties we’re facing, rather than the fullness of what we have in the Lord.

Why not take a few moments now to thank God for the season you’re in and to look forward with expectation to all that He wants to pour into the half full cup of your life?

Prayer: Lord, thank You that You have a plan for my life, and Your plans are to prosper me and not to harm me. Thank You for all the blessings I have already received, and for those that are yet to come. Help me to see things as You see them, and not to focus on the negatives and difficulties. In Jesus’ name, Amen.