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Strangely Dim in the Light

by Anne O'Donnell
07/04/21
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Turn your eyes upon Jesus, look full in his wonderful face

And the things of this world will grow strangely dim

In the light of his glory and grace. By Helen H. Lemmel

A serviceman came to our home to diagnose a problem with our new refrigerator. In less than thirty-six hours of use, water had found its way down to the top shelf creating puddles in need of continual wiping. The serviceman left concluding a malfunction could not be detected, even after we produced photographs and carefully calculated descriptions of the defective appliance.

To say our family felt let down by our new one-thousand dollar purchase did not match the frustrations we tried to keep under control. Resisting the pressure to accept a faulty unit as a permanent fixture in our kitchen, I resolved to dismiss this annoyance from my mind, and instead, replace the irritation with thanksgiving to God we had refrigeration for our food. I vowed to believe that one day soon, the problem would be addressed again, and fixed.

I often catch myself in the throngs of panic and worry over menial inconveniences that pop up in my daily life. Without my permission, my mind travels into traps of obsessive irritation, leaving me stuck in vicious cycles of impatience. These patterns of defeat have no business occupying the mind of a Christian. When I catch myself ensnared in these kinds of worldly inconveniences, I am met with the realization of how vulnerable I am when my spiritual defenses are not in position.

Last year we took up some carpeting on the first floor, exposing the beauty of splattered paint drippings and other stains on the concrete from the original construction of the room. It has been roughly seven months now that our family room has waited patiently for a new floor covering, and I trust someday soon God will provide the dollars for us to give it a face lift. In the meantime, I choose to shift my thinking off the immediate “crisis” of incomplete remodeling, and on to thanksgiving that I have a home where peace permeates throughout.

How often do I find myself stewing over incidents at my job that grate on my nerves, or succumbing to the intolerance that surges up in me because my neighbor screams at her dogs day and night, or getting all worked up over plans that fall through.

With evil ravaging the globe, and Christianity under attack from progressives and communists infiltrating America, one must stop to evaluate how much time we give to small aggravations and disturbances.

There is only one purpose for our existence and that is to proclaim the good news of Jesus Christ to a lost and hurting world who are desperate to know the truth, but are denied access to it because their atheist and communist leaders withhold it from them.

When we put our worldly inconveniences under the spotlight to expose their trivial existence, we can laugh at how meaningless they are in comparison to the Great Commission.

Yes, when we turn our eyes upon Jesus, and take in the depths of His grace upon us, the things of this world will look strangely dim, and give us fresh opportunities to categorize what is truly important and what is not.