No sun like the Son!

                  A brief addendum to yesterday's post:
          1) About noon today, we suddenly began to see little patches of blue sky...and then, lo and behold, the sun began to poke his happy head out again!  Yahoo--who knew how fabulous a little sunshine could be?!  I'd venture to say most of us hadn't given the weeks of sunshine we'd been enjoying much of a thought...until the rain arrived in force.  Yes, grateful for the April showers, but mighty thankful for the sun.  And thankful for all the multiple daily, "small" graces we take for granted.  Sunshine, laughter, fragrant flowers, good food, hugs, waving green leaves, chirping birds, favorite songs...not so small after all, are they?  
         2) Also a reminder that NOTHING lasts forever.  That rain seemed to go on and on and on. All day Sunday.  All day Monday.  We could hear it all night, relentlessly falling.  Mr. B and I walked this morning in a seemingly endless wall of dreary rain and yuck.
            But guess what?  Those rough patches will end eventually.  They always do.  That's why they're called "patches"--you will eventually come out the other side of every patch.  If life feels a bit dark and snarky right now, hang on.  Keep walking with Jesus.  He's not only with you through every patch, but He will always bring you through to the other side.
           3) My daughter and I both love  Paul Tripp's wonderful devotional, New Morning Mercies.  Turns out this morning we both read, loved, and were convicted by his words:
                 "Today you will spend solitary moments of conversation with yourself, either listing  your complaints or counting your blessings." 
                  Please reread that, because it's profound and powerful.  Are you listing complaints or counting blessings?  No one--absolutely no one talks to you more than you do.  We all have inward chatter going on throughout our day, and I'm just wondering--what are we counting?  Upon what are we focusing?  What are we daily, consistently, preaching to ourselves?
               I ask myself that question, because it's all too easy for me to slip into the complaining mode rather than the blessing counting mode.  And you know why? Because of my selfishness.  My stinking sinful selfishness that makes life all about little old me.  About my desires.  My agenda.  My needs.  My family.  My dreams for my children.  My ideas about how life should go.  Sigh.
                  Of course, I totally know that's sin. I absolutely recognize it as selfishness.  But as I said yesterday, my sin also causes me to forget.  I forget God and focus on me.  I forget God's Word and fixate on my feelings.  I forget God's faithfulness and dwell on my little myopic world.
                 Anybody else?
                So what's the antidote?   First, recognize it and repent of it!  Confess and repent of that sin and selfishness which leads to complaining.  Second, fix our eyes on Jesus.  "Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God." (Heb.12:1-2)
                 Fixing our eyes on Jesus--daily, steadily, consistently.  Gaze at Him.  Look to Him.  Call to Him.  Depend upon Him.  Walk with Him.  Trust in Him.
                 So simple, yet so transformative.  Today, let's count our blessings rather than listing our complaints.  Let's choose gratitude over grumbling.  And no matter what, let's fix our gaze on Jesus.  That sunshine is wonderful, but there's no sun like the Son!
                To God be the glory.