“Suffering has been stronger than all other teaching and has taught me to understand what your heart used to be. I have been bent and broken, but – I hope – into a better shape.” ― Charles Dickens, Great Expectations

So, here again is the perennial question: 

Is your glass half empty or is your glass half full?

You know the standard answers that supposedly determine whether you’re a pessimist or an optimist. 

But pessimism and optimism are both over-rated and unrealistic because they don’t see the whole picture. 

In fact, they ignore the part where if I say, “I am god” versus when God says “I AM GOD!” part of the picture, one of us is a liar and it is not GOD, but it is me.

To the wise and perceptive, the glass is actually FULL.

There is some water (which is obvious).  The rest of the glass is filled with air. 

Just because you can’t see it doesn’t mean it’s not there.

We need the air just as much as we need the water. Both are vital.

How many times in your life have you judged yourself, another person or a situation based only on what you see?

It happens every day, moment by moment, when we only use the five physical senses.

How often do you “see” or understand the whole picture?  This happens only when we use our spiritual senses, our spiritual eyes, ears, etc.

What a different view when we look at things from a spiritual perspective – GOD’S HEART ALONE!

Proverbs 15:13-17Amplified Bible

¹³ 
A heart full of joy and goodness makes a cheerful face,
But when a heart is full of sadness the spirit is crushed.
¹⁴ 
The mind of the intelligent and discerning seeks knowledge and eagerly inquires after it,
But the mouth of the [stubborn] fool feeds on foolishness.
¹⁵ 
All the days of the afflicted are bad,
But a glad heart has a continual feast [regardless of the circumstances].
¹⁶ 
Better is a little with the [reverent, worshipful] fear of the Lord
Than great treasure and trouble with it.
¹⁷ 
Better is a dinner of vegetables and herbs where love is present
Than a fattened ox served with hatred.

The Word of God for the Children of God. Gloria! In Excelsis Deo! Alleluia! Amen.

“It’s Not ever enough…”

Have you ever had an experience where it seemed like your glass was half full/half empty? 

There wasn’t enough time, money, energy, love, cooperation, etc., to do what needed to be done?  Sure, you’re grateful for whatever you do have, but it really doesn’t seem to be enough to meet the demands of the situation.

Well, today is as good a time as any to open your spiritual eyes, to spiritualize your view, to see the unseen because: 

“There’s more FULLNESS in the half empty glass than you thought.”

God’s Heart!

God’s love and care!

God’s guidance and protection!

God’s glory and grace are always there filling the glass (our lives) to the fullest. 

It’s easy to see this when things are going well. 

But do we see it when our glass seems not only empty but as dry as the driest Sahara Desert? 

The good news is that our glass is full whether we see it or not.

The Book of Proverbs is packed full of wisdom about the heart.

There are nearly fifty occurrences of the word “heart” in the Book of Proverbs.

I want to call your attention to some of them today.

1st in Proverbs 15:13 where we learn that joyful hope in the heart puts a smile on the face.

“A joyful heart makes a cheerful [good] face, but when the heart is sad, the spirit is broken” (NASB).

[“A merry heart makes a cheerful countenance, but by sorrow of the heart the spirit is broken (NIV).]

Inner feelings whether from joy or sadness will come to exterior expression.

To be joyful is to be glad, merry or cheerful.

Inner joy shows on a person’s face. When we’re happy on the inside, our faces can’t help but show it on the outside.

Happiness and Sadness are issues of the heart.

What a person is inwardly has more lasting impact on his emotional state than do his circumstances.

Some people hold up under difficult circumstances better than others because of inner strength. Christians though can have inner joy.

Body language communicates without words.

The shrug of a shoulder, a raised eyebrow, a false smile, a down-turned mouth, a knowing nod-all of these can speak volumes even when no sound is heard.

Sit on a shopping mall bench and study the faces of those who pass by.

Listen to snatches of conversations, and catch the emotions expressed. Soon the evidence of a broken spirit will become obvious in someone by both words and body language. A pretended cheerfulness is difficult to maintain for long.

So, we wonder are only a few fortunate people born with a bright outlook on life or is optimism an attitude we can learn?

Dr. Susan C. Vaughan, author of Half Empty, Half Full, Understanding the Psychological Roots of Optimism, (May 2001) https://smile.amazon.com/Half-Empty-Full-Understanding-Psychological/dp/015601100X/ref=sr_1_1?crid=3D4IBR41G6H5N&keywords=Susan+Vaughan+%22Half+Full%22&qid=1653819092&sprefix=susan+vaughan+half+full+%2Caps%2C60&sr=8-1

says that

seeing life’s potentials and possibilities instead of its pitfalls is the result of an internal process anyone can follow.

One of her stated conclusions is that “there is a powerful link between facial expression and emotions.

She believes that people who begin to act happier actually feel happier.”

There is merit in thinking and acting positively, but the Bible declares that true spiritual joy begins deep inside us, then spreads to our faces.

But, what about us, how do we develop a merry or joyful heart?

Practice the Presence of God every day!

We can begin by thanking the Lord for being with us and working for our good in every situation (Romans 8:28).

A daily walk with God can produce a merry heart if we focus on His blessings.

It’s not a matter of pretending but of practicing an outlook on life that reflects our faith in Christ.

“Rejoice in the Lord always,” Paul wrote from prison. “Again, I will say, rejoice! (Philippians 4:4).

Turn Your eyes upon Jesus ….

Turn Your Eyes Upon Jesus

Helen H. Lemmel

O soul are you weary and troubled
No light in the darkness you see
There’s light for a look at the Savior
And life more abundant and free

Turn your eyes upon Jesus
Look full in his wonderful face
And the things of earth will grow strangely dim
In the light of his glory and grace

His word shall not fail you he promised
Believe him and all will be well
Then go to a world that is dying
His perfect salvation to tell

Turn your eyes upon Jesus
Look full in his wonderful face
And the things of earth will grow strangely dim
In the light of his glory and grace

O soul are you weary and troubled
No light in the darkness you see
There’s light for a look at the Savior
And life more abundant and free

Turn your eyes upon Jesus
Look full in his wonderful face
And the things of earth will grow strangely dim
In the light of his glory and grace.

Paul writes, “For in him [Jesus] dwelleth all the fulness of the Godhead bodily.” (Colossians 2:9)

Jesus was the embodiment of God’s full glory.

Paul saw that we too have access to this fulness of God. 

He prays for the Ephesians (and us) that we also may be able

“to know the love of Christ, which passeth all knowledge [knowledge gained from the five material senses.  There’s that outward appearance of things again.], that ye might be filled with all the fulness of God.”  (Ephesians 3:19 KJV)

Think of that, to be filled with ALL the FULNESS of GOD.

But it’s crucial here to see the context of these verses from Ephesians 3:14-21:

Ephesians 3:14-21Amplified Bible

¹⁴ For this reason [grasping the greatness of this plan by which Jews and Gentiles are joined together in Christ] I bow my knees [in reverence] before the Father [of our Lord Jesus Christ], ¹⁵ from whom every family in heaven and on earth ^[a]derives its name [God—the first and ultimate Father]. ¹⁶ May He grant you out of the riches of His glory, to be strengthened and spiritually energized with power through His Spirit in your inner self, [indwelling your innermost being and personality], ¹⁷ so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through your faith. And may you, having been [deeply] rooted and [securely] grounded in love, ¹⁸ be fully capable of comprehending with all the saints (God’s people) the width and length and height and depth of His love [fully experiencing that amazing, endless love]; ¹⁹ and [that you may come] to know [practically, through personal experience] the love of Christ which far surpasses [mere] knowledge [without experience], that you may be filled up [throughout your being] to all the fullness of God [so that you may have the richest experience of God’s presence in your lives, completely filled and flooded with God Himself].

²⁰ Now to Him who is able to [carry out His purpose and] do superabundantly more than all that we dare ask or think [infinitely beyond our greatest prayers, hopes, or dreams], according to His power that is at work within us, ²¹ to Him be the glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations forever and ever. Amen.

We must bow our knees to the Father.  We must worship God. 

God gives us the riches of His glory which strengthen us inwardly, thereby allowing Christ to dwell in our hearts. 

When Christ lives in our hearts, then we are filled with the fulness of God.

So open your eyes, your spiritual eyes.

See the unseen.

Give Christ full access to all the broad avenues of your heart as well as all the nooks and crannies.  (Don’t try to hide anything. It never works.)

No matter what the outward material picture is,

your glass, your heart, your life in God the Father, Son, Holy Spirit is 100% full.

Completely FULL.

“The only calibration that counts is how much heart people invest, how much they ignore their fears of being hurt or caught out or humiliated. And the only thing people regret is that they didn’t live boldly enough, that they didn’t invest enough heart, didn’t love enough. Nothing else really counts at all.”
― Ted Hughes, Letters of Ted Hughes

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/1892251.Letters_of_Ted_Hughes

That kind of optimism begins with a merry heart and spreads to the face.

In turn, a truly cheerful countenance spreads a contagion of hope and joy to others.

We don’t know who will cross our paths today or what burdens those persons may carry.

You might want to check, then double and dare to triple check your mirror.

When the storms of life are raging – am I All full of me or all full of God?

How’s that self portrait of “My smile versus GOD’s Smile?”

Hmm … YEP! that’s much more like it.

In the name of God, the Father and God the Son and God the Holy Spirit,

Let us Pray,

Lord God, my Way-maker, I know you have a destiny for me to achieve in this life. I want to follow the plan that you have laid out. Help me to understand and follow your call. Show me your will for my life and what I need to do right now to get started. Enable me to know who I am in Christ, and the special gifts and abilities you have given me. Give me the spirit of wisdom and revelation as I seek to know you more intimately. Gloria! In Excelsis Deo! Alleluia! Amen.

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