It would be great to claim that I continually think about God all day long, that I can multitask my brain and focus on doing something while still actively focusing on my Creator. My wife can attest to the fact that, sadly, I have a brain that can only focus effectively on one thing at a time. I thank God that He made me the way I am, but I can feel unequipped in my faith because I find it depressingly easy to be distracted from seeing some of the obvious activity of God in my life. Those blessings that come every day and the blessings that are perpetually growing each day. It breaks my heart to think that I can be oblivious or take for granted those things. For me, I make it a practice to count my blessings, something I have done for a while now. It lets me take time were I can focus on God’s hand in my life. During those times of prayer or reflection, I can see He covers me in blessings and I can give Him the praise He deserves. While I try actively to take the time to reflect on those things during my day, what about the those things that happen when God protects us in the invisible?
Then the Lord opened Balaam’s eyes, and he saw the angel of the Lord standing in the road with his sword drawn. So he bowed low and fell facedown.
The angel of the Lord asked him, “Why have you beaten your donkey these three times? I have come here to oppose you because your path is a reckless one before me. The donkey saw me and turned away from me these three times. If it had not turned away, I would certainly have killed you by now, but I would have spared it.”
Numbers 22: 31-33
How easy is it to be frustrated in traffic on a ride home, throw a tantrum when the car breaks down, get upset when we are forced to wait for a delayed flight. It will be amazing to talk to God face-to-face and see the list of sword drawn angels in our path that have given us more chances then we deserve. What a humbling thought that while I get depressed on not being able to actively focus on my blessings that I can recognize, there are an infinite number of invisible blessings going on.
Consider this single track mind to be astounded.
– Jeff Gilbert