Refocusing

I'd been feeling so distant,

Lost in this darkness

And where was that light I once knew

And how do I get back there?

I hadn't learned,

Had never known

That, sometimes, when you want to get back to something,

If you just zoom in,

Refocus,

You'll find it's been right in front of you the whole time,

Shining brighter than you'd ever dreamed.

I didn't know,

When I started my Lenten challenge,

That it was going to do just that -

Help me zoom in,

Refocus.

It didn't take me long to figure it out, though.

I'd only been counting 10,000 reasons for five days,

Only made it up to 75,

When I posted how it had changed me -

Already how it had changed me.

I can't even describe how much more it changed me

Just to write it,

To tell the incredible story with my keyboard,

To open my eyes again to who He is,

What He's done,

Why I should worship Him.

All I can say is, I wanted to take a walk.

In the middle of the day,

Plenty of homework yet to do,

Friend visiting any minute,

I just wanted to take a walk.

So I did.

It was a beautiful day.

I walked,

Smile on my face,

And I talked -

Not audibly,

Not to anyone I ran into,

Just to Him,

Just in my heart.

I didn't tell Him about me, either -

And, oh, when I talk to Him, it always seems to end up being about me,

About my needs,

Or about the needs of others,

The ever-expanding list of prayer requests.

I know better than to stop praying for those things,

For they are very important,

But relationship isn't praying requests,

Relationship is praying praises,

And that's just what I did.

I walked

And I praised.

You know, I always get bored when I pray a lot.

I always run out of things to pray about,

But something about this was different.

Somehow, it didn't matter if I said the same thing ten,

Twenty,

A hundred times,

Because it was that true,

Because He is that much and more.

So I just praised Him for who He is,

Thanked Him for who He is,

And I wasn't bored at all.

In fact, I felt like I could do it forever.

Praising God gave me the joy my heart was lacking,

Walking with Him filled my heart so full of joy I was sure it would burst -

I'm not speaking metaphorically, either.

I literally thought there was so much joy in my heart that my heart could not possibly continue to contain it all.

I expected it to explode,

Spill over.

It did.

I casually glanced around,

Made sure no one was watching,

(By the way, my next goal is to not look,

To not care who's watching.)

Then I raised my hands,

And my heart sang at the top of its lungs:

Bless the Lord, O my soul,
O my soul,
Worship His holy name.
Sing like never before,
O my soul,
I'll worship Your holy name.

And the joy just kept coming.

I have never felt so full.

I have never felt so free.

I never want to lose that.

I never want to leave.

It's true.

It's really, really true. 

Psalm 16:11

English Standard Version (ESV)

¹¹ You make known to me the path of life;
    in your presence there is fullness of joy;
    at your right hand are pleasures forevermore.

Here are my reasons #76-169,

Again, not including today's,

But another week's worth of discovering who God is.

Some of them seem kind of simple,

Repetitive,

But each and every one is helping me see God in a new light,

See Him as He is,

Want Him more and more.

So, for anyone who wants to read:

76. He confirms His oaths (Genesis 26:3)
77. He will not leave until He does what He promises (Genesis 28:15)
78. He sees the unloved (Genesis 29:31)
79. He enables the childless to conceive (Genesis 29:31)
80. He directs (Genesis 31:3)
81. He names (Genesis 35:9)
82. He puts people to death (Genesis 38:7)
83. He grants prosperity (Genesis 39:2)
84. He gives success (Genesis 39:3)
85. He shows kindness (Genesis 39:21)
86. He grants favor (Genesis 39:21)
87. Interpretations belong to Him (Genesis 40:8)
88. He gives answers (Genesis 41:16)
89. He reveals His future actions (Genesis 41:25)
90. He decides firmly (Genesis 41:32)
91. He grants wisdom (Genesis 41:39)
92. He grants discernment (Genesis 41:39)
93. He sends (Genesis 45:7-8)
94. He speaks in visions (Genesis 46:2)
95. He gives everlasting possessions (Genesis 48:4)
96. He is the lifelong shepherd (Genesis 48:15)
97. His hand steadies (Genesis 49:24)
98. He is the Mighty One of Jacob (Genesis 49:24)
99. He is the Shepherd (Genesis 49:24)
100. He is the Rock of Israel (Genesis 49:24)
101. He blesses with blessings of the skies above (Genesis 49:25)
102. He blesses with blessings of the deep springs below (Genesis 49:25)
103. He blesses with blessings of the breast and womb (Genesis 49:25)
104. He uses harm for good, to accomplish His purposes (Genesis 50:20)
105. He hears groaning (Exodus 2:24)
106. He remembers His covenant (Exodus 2:24)
107. He has concern for His people (Exodus 2:25)
108. He sets bushes on fire, yet they don't burn up (Exodus 3:2)
109. He speaks from within bushes (Exodus 3:4)
110. He sees His people's misery (Exodus 3:7)
111. He gives human beings their mouths (Exodus 4:11)
112. He makes people deaf or mute (Exodus 4:11)
113. He gives people sight or makes them blind (Exodus 4:11)
114. He helps people speak (Exodus 4:12)
115. He teaches what to say (Exodus 4:12)
116. His anger burns against people (Exodus 4:14)
117. He gives the power to perform wonders (Exodus 4:21)
118. He hardens people's hearts (Exodus 4:21)
119. He brings trouble on people (Exodus 5:22)
120. His hand is mighty (Exodus 6:1)
121. He is the Lord (Exodus 6:7-8)
122. He multiplies His signs and wonders (Exodus 7:3)
123. He brings mighty acts of judgment (Exodus 7:4)
124. He brings out His divisions, His people (Exodus 7:4)
125. He stretches out His hand against nations (Exodus 7:5)
126. He turns staffs into snakes (Exodus 7:8-10)
127. He turns water into blood (Exodus 7:19-21)
128. He sends plagues of frogs (Exodus 8:1-6)
129. He causes frogs to die (Exodus 8:12-14)
130. He turns dust into gnats (Exodus 8:16-17)
131. He performs wonders that cannot be reproduced (Exodus 8:18)
132. He sends swarms of flies (Exodus 8:21)
133. He makes distinctions between peoples (Exodus 8:22-23)
134. He makes swarms of flies leave (Exodus 8:30-31)
135. He brings terrible sicknesses (Exodus 9:2-4)
136. He sets times (Exodus 9:5)
137. He does things when He has decided He will (Exodus 9:5-6)
138. He turns soot into boil-causing dust (Exodus 9:8-10)
139. There is no one like Him in all the earth (Exodus 9:14)
140. He is capable of wiping peoples from the earth (Exodus 9:15)
141. He raises people up to show His power (Exodus 9:16)
142. He shows His power that His name might be proclaimed (Exodus 9:16)
143. He sends terrible hailstorms (Exodus 9:18-26)
144. He gives warnings (Exodus 9:18-20)
145. The earth is His (Exodus 9:29)
146. He brings locusts to cover the face of the ground (Exodus 10:4-5)
147. He changes the winds (Exodus 10:18)
148. He sends darkness that can be felt (Exodus 10:21-23)
149. He makes people look favorably upon others (Exodus 11:3)
150. He strikes down those whom he chooses (Exodus 11:12)
151. He brings judgment on the gods (Exodus 11:12)
152. He keeps vigil (Exodus 11:42)
153. He rescues (Exodus 12:51)
154. He goes ahead (Exodus 13:21)
155. He travels as a pillar of cloud to guide (Exodus 13:21)
156. He travels as a pillar of fire to give light (Exodus 13:21)
157. He does not leave His place in front of His people (Exodus 13:21-22)
158. He gains glory for Himself (Exodus 14:4)
159. He brings deliverance (Exodus 14:13)
160. He fights for His people (Exodus 14:14)
161. He drives the sea back with a mighty wind (Exodus 14:21)
162. He turns sea into dry ground – dry! not even muddy! (Exodus 14:21-22)
163. He divides waters (Exodus 14:21-22)
164. He throws armies into confusion (Exodus 14:24)
165. He jams the wheels of chariots (Exodus 14:25)
166. He puts the sea back in its place (Exodus 14:26-27)
167. He sweeps people into the sea (Exodus 14:27-28)
168. He guides His people safely through (Exodus 14:29-31)
169. He saves His people from their enemies (Exodus 14:30)

The bold, italicized words are from the song "10,000 Reasons" by Matt Redman.  Many thanks to this incredible artist for the song which sparked this project.

Linking up at A Holy Experience today.  Walking with Him, focusing on Him - because that's what fasting's all about - more on how my Lenten project ties into fasting coming soon.

Also, check out some of these other beautiful posts.


The 10,000 Reasons Community:

After much debate and much wrestling with my pride,

I've decided to open up a little community space here.

I was worried I'd end up making this about me,

But, ultimately, I realized that I need to do this

Because this needs to be about Him

And how to help people know Him more,

And I believe this is the best way to do that.

One person has already expressed her desire to take on the challenge,

So, as long as one other person wants to do this with me,

I will open up space here for everyone to connect.

If you want to dig into God with us,

Find God-Centric reasons to worship Him,

Find an in-context Scripture verse for each one,

Write a post about what you're doing,

Share how it's changing you,

How you know Him more,

Then feel free to add your link here,

So we can read each other's stories,

Know Him better through sharing,

Be encouraged to keep digging,

Keep blessing Him simply for who He is.

This place is for you.

God bless you!