I do not always appreciate what I have. I am not referring to the many material possessions that I have nor am I comparing myself to the rest of the world and concluding I am blessed. I am blessed, of course… as are we all. I do not see much point in rating our level of blessing or comparing that level to others. I am referring, instead, to those possessions which cannot be measured quantitatively. What about our dreams, our visions, our passions… those things that excite us?

There is a part of each of us that remains hidden. The way we think and the way we feel are ultimately private. We can invite others to experience our feelings and thoughts, or we have the ability to contain them. Sometimes these provide us with great joy and pleasure; other times they provide us with sorrow and empathy. I have been monitoring myself for a few months and noting the events that form catalysts for these feelings and thoughts to emerge.

I was very flattered to be able to attend a couple of sporting events in the past week. On Saturday night, I watched the Denver Nuggets play the New York Knicks at the Pepsi Center. Two days later, I saw the Denver Broncos beat the Tennessee Titans at Mile High Stadium. Besides enjoying both games extensively, I noticed those around me and it seems clear that a public sporting event is a great place to display one’s emotion. There was happiness, elation, sorrow, anger, frustration, and virtually ever other emotion on display — all in a matter of hours.

This wide range of emotions seems to be absent from other locales, like our workplaces, our schools — even our homes. It might take months or years for this variety of emotion to be displayed. And what about our relationship with God? The last few months, I have been attempting to engage a more realistic relationship with God — one that accurately reflects my thoughts and feelings. I have been driven by an important (at least to me) verse:

Psalm 37:4 — Delight yourself in the Lord…

What does it mean to delight myself? I was delighted to be surrounded by fellow Denver fans last weekend. I was delighted to have a brat at Invesco. I am delighted by my kids. I can easily delight myself in my wife — but do I in God?

As it turns out, I have discovered something about myself. I am most delighted when I am dwelling on those internal feelings and thoughts about my future. I realize that I possess something special. It may well be that every human possesses similar things — but mine are, well — mine. I truly find delight when I focus on that which may happen in my future. This delight is only compounded when I share that with Mandy and we together dwell on such things.

What are you willing to do in your life? What does your future hold for you? You cannot know, of course, but you can dream. You can imagine. Spend some time over this holiday weekend of Thanksgiving and ponder what you may do someday for God. How does He have you wired up to bring glory to Him? Thank Him for the way He has created you and thank Him in advance for the opportunities He is going to provide for you.

Thank outside the box — not just for the obvious things you are thankful for. Thank Him for the dreams and visions and passions He has given you. Thank Him for the ways in which you are willing to obey. And enjoy the delight.

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This entry was posted by zac on Thursday, November 22nd, 2007 at 8:36 am and is filed under Weekly Jib Jab. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.