The day before Jessica posted Beneath the Ribbons and Bows about being “enough,” I was reading a book called The War of Art by Steven Pressfield on a flight to Chicago and had a bit of an epiphany at 38,000 feet. The very next day, I read Beneath the Ribbons and Bows and shared the following with Jessica.
How often do we look at ourselves through the perfect lens of God?
The War of Art is all about how to name and then to defeat what the author calls Resistance – anything that prevents an artist from creating his or her art. In one chapter, the author used the example of Tiger Woods during the 2001 Masters. During the tournament (which he would go on to win), someone took a photo during Woods’ backswing on one of the tees, which was enough to distract him.
He stopped his swing, glared at the person who took the photo, and re-composed himself. Then hit a 310-yard bomb down the middle of the fairway. Pressfield said he “remained sovereign over the moment”. And that made me think about how we are capable of remaining “sovereign over the moment” only through our freedom in Christ.
How much more will we accomplish for His kingdom when we focus more on Him and on how He originally designed us?
That lead me to Psalm 139 and the “fearfully and wonderfully made” passage (v. 14). What I have neglected to notice about that particular verse in the past is how it starts: “I PRAISE you BECAUSE I am fearfully and wonderfully made . . .” (emphasis mine) That particular revelation blew my mind. David was praising God because He created him in such a wonderful fashion.
How freeing will it be when we can accept that God designed us for perfection? That our flaws, though real, are a result of the Fall and that we can overcome them because Jesus ALREADY overcame them through the cross and His resurrection? How much more will we accomplish for His kingdom when we focus more on Him and on how He originally designed us?
How often do we look at ourselves through the perfect lens of God? How much more often do we look at ourselves through the faulty lens of comparison – what we don’t have in comparison to others; what we haven’t accomplished in comparison to others; what we perceive we lack in comparison to others?
God created each of us with a specific purpose in mind. When we focus solely on God and seek His will for our lives, we begin to see ourselves as God designed us – perfect for His purpose.
Jen is a Connecticut transplant by way of Williamsport, PA and Washington, DC. She has spent the majority of her career in the arts and volunteers in various capacities at Black Rock Church, in Fairfield, CT. Although writing has been more of personal outlet for Jen, God has given her opportunities in the past year to publish some of her writing, including a series of internal posts for Black Rock’s Read It, Live It initiative and now, on The Path I Follow.
One thought on “Epiphany at 38,000”