WEEKLY MESSAGE
SUN, 23/08/26 - SAT, 29/08/26
ON THE MESSAGE THIS WEEK: SEE THE BIGGER PICTURE
KEY VERSE: “A GREAT AND EFFECTIVE DOOR HAS OPENED TO ME, AND THERE ARE MANY ADVERSARIES” (1 CORINTHIANS 16:9)
One day the Chamber of Commerce in a small town invited a successful businessman to come and speak. The local economy was bad and they were discouraged, so his job was to motivate them. He took a large piece of white paper and made a red dot in the centre of it. ‘What do you see?’ he asked the audience.
One person replied, ‘I see a red dot.’ The speaker said, ‘Fine, but what else do you see?’ Others chimed in, ‘A red dot.’ The speaker asked, ‘Don’t you see anything else besides the dot?’ The audience responded with a resounding ‘no!’ The speaker said, ‘You’ve overlooked the most important thing; you’ve missed seeing the sheet of paper!’ Then he went on to explain that in life we are often distracted by small, dot-like failures and experiences. They keep us from seeing the blessings and successes that are more important than the disappointments that try to monopolise our attention and drain our energy.
Paul wrote, ‘A great and effective door has opened to me, and there are many adversaries.’ Opportunity and obstacles, they go together like macaroni and cheese or fish and chips. Now, Paul didn’t deny the reality of the opposition he faced; he just chose to focus on the opportunity it presented.
The poet wrote, ‘Two men looked through prison bars. One saw mud, the other stars.’ What are you looking at? Are you so preoccupied with what is that you’ve lost sight of what can be? If so, you need to step back and ask God to help you see the bigger picture.
One day Jesus healed ten men of leprosy, which at the time was a death sentence because there was no known cure for it. Amazingly, only one of them remembered to come back and thank Him. What’s the story with the other nine? Were they too busy to be thankful? Surely they felt grateful, yet they didn’t take time express it. Did they just get caught up in other things and forget? Were they too cautious to be thankful? Maybe they thought their healing wouldn’t last, so they wanted to give it time before announcing it. Or maybe they were concerned that Jesus wanted something in return that they were either unwilling or unable to give. Were they too self-centred to be thankful?
In some ways, the sick life was a simpler life. Now they had to get a job, take responsibility, and play a role in society. Were they too arrogant to be thankful? Maybe they thought that given enough time, they would have recovered by themselves. Plus, to be grateful is to admit to being needy. Who wants to show weakness when you have an image to protect?
If this story is any indication, nine out of ten of us have a problem with gratitude, at least when it comes to expressing it. Don’t be like that. Be one of the 10 per cent! In three back-to-back psalms - in Psalms 105, 106, and 107 - David repeats similar words: ‘O give thanks unto the Lord; for He is good: for His mercy endureth for ever.’ Don’t let a day pass without remembering God’s goodness to you and thanking Him for it.
The story of the red dot reminds us that what we choose to focus on shapes how we see our circumstances. We can become so absorbed by our problems and disappointments that we overlook the bigger picture and the blessings God has placed before us. The story of the ten lepers shows us another danger: even when we recognise God’s blessings, we can become so caught up in life that we fail to stop and give thanks. Both stories challenge us to change our focus. Challenge us to look beyond our difficulties. Recognise God’s goodness, and respond with gratitude.
Have a blessed week in Jesus' Name, Amen.
(Article/ extract from ucb,wordfortoday)
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Did you know: There are almost 20 different passages in the Bible where it is mentioned that we are God's people.
Ref: Jeremiah 32:38 / Ezekiel 14:11 / Zechariah 8:8 / 2 Corinthians 6:16 / Hebrews 8:10 / Ezekiel 11:20 / Ezekiel 37:23 / Jeremiah 7:23 / Jeremiah 31:33 / Ezekiel 37:27 / Jeremiah 31:1 / Revelation 21:3 / Exodus 6:7 / Leviticus 26:12 / Jeremiah 11:4 / Jeremiah 30:22 / Ezekiel 36:28.