Perspectives Far and Near...

Greetings, Dear Friends!

Susie Larson here...

And to those visiting, I say welcome! I post every Wednesday and my sole purpose is to nourish your soul along the way. 

Each month I give away a $10.00 gift card to someone who posts on my blog. So leave a comment, share an insight or story and bless lots of people. Maybe you'll win!

Next week I'll announce the winner for April, so be sure to stop back and look for your name!

One more little piece of business. As many of you know, my husband and I co-chair the International Justice Mission benefit banquet in Minnesota, which is coming up on Tuesday, May 12th, at the Hyatt Regency Hotel in downtown Minneapolis. Kevin and I are sponsoring a couple of tables and would like to extend this special offer to you, my friends in blogosphere. 

We are giving away four free tickets to the IJM benefit (that's a $200.00 value!). You can claim one or all four tickets, IF YOU ARE AVAILABLE MAY 12TH AND CAN MAKE IT TO THE BANQUET, please email me privately at: info@susielarson.com

Now on to my topic...

This morning during my prayer time I spent some time pondering the loaves and fishes miracle described in the gospel of Mark, 6th chapter. 

I don't know, maybe it's because I'm a bit weary and overloaded with work that I looked at this story differently this morning, but I couldn't help but picture the disciples staring out at the sea of people after a long, long day of ministry and wondering if they would ever feel 'caught up'. I imagined Peter running his fingers through his curly hair wondering if he should speak up or not. I pictured the other disciples with sweaty, gritty skin, growling stomaches, and a strong sense of their own inadequacies (maybe I'm projecting too much here). Still, indulge me for a moment.

Let's read a bit of the passage:

By this time it was late in the day, so Jesus' disciples came to him. "This is a remote place," they said, "and it's already very late.  Send the people away so they can go to the surrounding countryside and villages and buy themselves something to eat."  But Jesus answered, "You give them something to eat." They said to him, "That would take eight months of a man's wages! Are we to go and spend that much on bread and give it to them to eat?" (Mark 6:35-37).

The disciples faced an enormous task. Impossible, actually. 

Jesus looked at the thousands of hungry people and then at his empty-handed disciples and said, "You feed them." 

I don't know about you, but much of my own angst comes from looking at the 'multitudes' of needs and demands on my time and feeling painfully insufficient to tend to them all (which I am - and which the disciples were). 

I love how Jesus brought the disciples' focus back to Him and to what they did have available to them. It's so tempting to stare at the endless task list or the gaping area of insufficiency and despair over its big-ness and our smallness. But we must listen to Jesus say to us, "Look here. Look at me. Open your hand. What do you have to work with? Let's start there." 

Imagine if the young boy in the story would have given his lunch to one other person. That would have been nice of him, but his lunch would have only fed one person. Instead, he gave it to the disciples who gave it to Jesus. Thousands and thousands were fed with baskets left over - from one faithful offering.

Why are we so quick to forget the majesty and the power of our God? 

Even so, we do forget, and that's why we need reminders to adjust our perspective from time to time. 

I think it's good to scan the horizon on occasion, just to get the bigger picture. When discouragement plagues us, it's good to look over our shoulder and consider just how far we've come. When the daily grind begins to feel incidental and inconsequential, it's great to look up, pray, and be reminded once again to press on because there is a promised land up ahead. 

But in the day to day living, I hear Jesus saying, "Look here. Look at Me. Don't try to carry all of your tomorrows today. Open your hand. What do you have? Let's start there. A small seed is all we need."

Someone once said that it's best to 'glance at our circumstances and gaze at Jesus.' 

What do you need today?

Is it time for you to step back and consider how far you've come? Is it time to refresh the vision for your life? Do you have a sense of where is God taking you? Or are you walking around the same mountain again and again? 

May God give you a fresh insight into the landscape He has designed for you.

Or maybe you're feeling a little like I am; a tad weighed down by the demands of life;  you have more tasks than energy and time. But in spite of how we feel, we know that God is God and that He is with us on this journey!

Even so, it's time to scoot in a little closer to Him; it's time to open our hand and show Him our little offering. And it's time to cease striving and know that He is God. More is on His shoulders than on ours. Even when our arms get tired, He's still got us. 

Today I embrace a 'near perspective' - I draw near to the heart of God and leave my list at His feet. I show Him what I have in my hand, not because He doesn't know, but because I need to be reminded that He is perfectly fine with small, insufficient offerings; that's when His glory shines through and His power to multiply is revealed. Then, with His strength and under His direction, I tend to the task He has assigned me today. It's a perfectly simple plan. :) 

I said this at a conference last weekend and I'll mention it here again. Jesus said, "My Father is always working, and I too am working." God is always good and since He's always working, He's always up to something good. May we open our eyes and clearly see what He's up to in our lives!

"Faith expects from God what is beyond all expectation." --Andrew Murray

Be blessed this week! I'd love to hear from you.

Susie

PS - If you haven't signed up for my quarterly E-zine, you might want to! We have great fun. Four times a year you'll receive an email 'magazine' with a devotional, some great book giveaways from my fellow authors, some great book recommendations, and a prayer to send you on your way. Here's the link in case you're interested: 

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Comments

[Susie Larson]

Dear Doreen,

Thanks for your honesty. I think you represent many, many people. May God help us all to look up! Bless you!

[Susie Larson]

Kathy,

I love what you wrote: even in the clouds,the sun is still shining!

I'm thankful for God's mercy and grace amidst our fumbling efforts to handle everything all at once. His grace is sufficient for us, for His power is made perfect in our weakness! Another verse I've been pondering lately is Psalm 18:32..."It is GOD who arms me with STRENGTH. He makes my way PERFECT." I love that. :)

[Susie Larson]

Dear Rebecca,

Thanks for sharing that great passage from the Message translation. I'm so thankful you made it to the IJM benefit. I hope you were challenged, inspired, and blessed! We had a great night! God is good! Bless you, sister!

[Susie Larson]

Dear Tami,

I do the same thing! I always picture myself handing Jesus my crumpled up bag lunch (my very imperfect offering), and I picture Him making something wonderful of it. We're so blessed to belong to Him! Thanks for your post.

[Susie Larson]

Bless you, Helen.

It was a great benefit, wouldn't you say?

God bless you!

Susie

[Doreen]

Hi Susie, I know with my job I often feel inadequate and maybe that I don't have certain skills. I am always hard on myself and I worry constantly about almost everything I do. I know God is working with what I have to offer and helping me grow. I tend to look at the 'what if' picture a lot when I should be looking at what He can do with what I have.

[Kathy S]

What encouragement, Susie. I too have been feeling like the "to do" list is longer than my resources. Thanks for reminding me to be still. I think there is an underlying fear that if things fall apart, I will feel the burden of responsibility.

I have been neglecting my shop lately(advertising and sprucing it up) due to a call to teach our youth for a few weeks (I did the girl's part) about sexual purity and biblical dating...(the research was a big job!)Despite my neglect and feeling guilty, God has been sending shoppers & blessing me with abundance~I need it so~ especially as I am planning a wedding for Sept 4th for our daughter.

He is faithful! He keeps reminding me that when I am weak, He is strong!

I am glad that even in the clouds, the sun is always there~shining!!

[Rebecca]

This is such a great reminder of how much our heavenly Father wants us to surrender our inadequacies and give Him the control.
When we put the will of God first, He will care for our needs and provide our daily bread.
I was led to 1 Corinthians 1:9 and I love the message translation as it correlates well to what you were saying.
1 Corinthians 1:9
Just think—you don't need a thing, you've got it all! All God's gifts are right in front of you as you wait expectantly for our Master Jesus to arrive on the scene for the Finale. And not only that, but God himself is right alongside to keep you steady and on track until things are all wrapped up by Jesus. God, who got you started in this spiritual adventure, shares with us the life of his Son and our Master Jesus. He will never give up on you. Never forget that.

Thank you for the offer to the IJM event. Your a dear sister in Christ Susie!
God bless you and protect you!
~Rebecca

[Tami Boesiger]

Whenever I feel like the job's too big or my time and skills are inadequate, I pray for God to multiply my efforts just like He multiplied that little boy's lunch.

Multiply our efforts, Lord. Make them more than what we see.

[Helen]

Susie,

**Please look for my email about the benefit. I have a plan.**

Also, thank you (and Kevin) for extending that generous offer to your readers.

I don't even have time right now to read this post, but I will savor it later...

xo, H.

[Rachel]

Susie,
I was feeling very discouraged this evening. Thank you for the encouragement.