A TIME TO REFLECT

I can recall a time when I was around seven years old on a farm in Texas, we lived in a farmhouse out in the country surrounded by fields and fields. Behind our house was a water tank, somewhere around fifteen to twenty feet across and about four feet deep with a wall of steel that was about 3/8 inches thick. Inside the tank were fish or at least I believed there were fish in the tank. On one particular night I went outside carrying a flashlight and climbing up so I could see I took the flashlight and shined into the water hoping to shine the light on a passing fish. As I was shining the light here and there and then all of a sudden I shined the light straight below me and to my shock I saw someone’s eyes looking up at me. It was not a fish but I could see it was human. Someone was under the water looking at me! I ran into the house and yelled for mom and told her what I had seen and she came with a rush to see the person in the water. As she took the flashlight and as I showed her where the person was she signed the light into the very spot. To my surprise and shock there were now two people looking up at us and mom began to laugh and laugh. I could not understand what she was laughing at until she explained to me that what I saw was my reflection in the water. Whew! As I am writing this it still makes me smile. I learned a great lesson about reflection on the water that I will never forget.
A new year has begun and if you are like me it brings me to a place to stop and do a little reflection on the past year of my life. Regardless of the ups and downs, failures and accomplishments, or maybe even the battles won or lost, I find that whatever the year has brought my way I realize that Jesus was with me all the way. Reflections are good that way.
From time to time, we need to do a little reflection of our spiritual walk to measure the condition of where we are and where we need to give more attention. We are called to do some personal reflection form the Word of God. In 2 Corinthians 13:5, we read, “Examine yourselves, whether ye be in the faith: prove your own selves…” Concerning the communion of believers, the Apostle Paul says, “But let a man examine himself…” There are times we are to reflect upon our lives to evaluate our standing when it comes to the guidelines of God’s Word. It would be good for us to remember the words of Jeremiah and make them our own. Jeremiah wrote in the book of Lamentations, “Let us search and try our ways, and turn again to the Lord. Let us lift up our hearts with our hands unto Godin the Heavens.” (Lam. 3:40, 41). In Psalm 26, we have a complete Psalm of King David as he does an introspective review of himself before God. It is one thing to examine myself; it is another thing all together to ask God to examine me. That is what David did.
May we reflect upon our own lives today. And like David, may we ask God to examine us first and show us where we are in our walk with Him. Let us ask God to look into our hearts and to try us as David did. May we ask to search our thoughts and bring us to a full submission to His will. Let us separate ourselves from the ungodly, v. 4, 5. May we be ready to offer to God a pure living sacrifice (Romans 12:1, 2). That sacrifice begins with the offering of ourselves to the Lord in worship and a faithfulness of desire to be in His house where His honor dwells, (Psa. 26:8).
When we reflect upon our lives and surrender ourselves to God, we will never be shocked at what we see.

Until then…
Bro. Glenn