Seeing the Big Picture
Today’s Verse:
Blessed be the Lord, who daily loadeth us with benefits, even the God of our salvation. Selah. ~Psalm 68:19
As a preacher was addressing a group of men, he took a large piece of paper and made a black dot in the center of it with a marking pen. Then, he held the paper up before the group and asked them what they saw. One man quickly replied, "I see a black mark." "Right," the preacher replied, "What else do you see?" Complete silence prevailed. "Don't you see anything other than the dot?" he asked. A chorus of noes came from the audience. "I'm really surprised," the preacher commented. "You have completely overlooked the most important thing of all: the sheet of paper." How many of us are like the men who only see the dot and miss the big picture? We see the dot instead of seeing the entire piece of paper. This morning, we need to get back to seeing “the big picture.” We need to remember the Lord, Who daily loadeth us with benefits.
There is the Person of the Lord.
“Blessed be the Lord”! The doxology says, “Praise God from Whom all blessings flow.” Our blessings come from God. “Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and cometh down from the Father of lights, with whom is no variableness, neither shadow of turning.” The Lord Who is God. The Lord Who loves us. The Lord Who lives forever and ever! The Lord Who, in nature, is giving all the time! If for no other reason, we should rejoice in the Person of the Lord!
There are the presents of the Lord.
There is the gift of life. He made us so that we could glorify Him. Life is so precious. We take life for granted, but life is a prized and wonderful gift. There is the gift of eternal life. There is nothing we can do to earn eternal life: it is His gift to us when we, by faith, receive the Lord Jesus Christ as our Savior. There is the gift of the forgiveness of sins. The forgiveness of God is free. The psalmist speaks of God’s benefits. His benefits are innumerable!
There is the periodicity of the Lord.
“...Who daily loadeth us with benefits.” Every day has new blessings in store. There is the blessing of daily protection. There is the blessing of daily encouragement. There is the blessing of people who receive Christ as Savior. There is the blessing of seeing new Christians grow. There is the blessing of seeing our children grow. There is the blessing of being loved. There is the blessing of a clean bill of health from the doctor. There is the blessing of a meal shared with a good friend. There are the daily blessings.
There is the praise to the Lord.
The psalmist said, “Blessed be....” Let’s bless the Lord for everything. Let’s bless the Lord for the little things as well as the big things. Let’s bless the Lord for every step. Let’s bless the Lord Who gives His hedge of protection. Let’s bless the Lord for His Word. Let’s bless the Lord for saving us. Let’s just bless the Lord!
Are you missing the big picture? Is the dot (the annoyances and unimportant things of life) stealing the blessing of God from you? Is it blinding you from blessing the Lord for His goodness? Let’s see the paper and not just the dot!
Have a praise-filled God Morning!
Bible Reading Schedule: John 16-18