Am I surrounded by beauty or by ugliness? Both. But what I see, what I concentrate on, what I absorb depends more on my attitude than on my situation. Attitude determines altitude. Here’s what I saw in the 34th Psalm today:
Scripture
“Who out there has a lust for life? Can’t wait each day to come upon beauty?” Psalm 34:12
Observation
David wrote this Psalm during a very difficult time in his life. He was exiled from his family and his homeland, and when a foreign king (Abimelech) recognized him, he had to feign insanity to save his hide. He could have been worrying and pouting, but instead he was looking forward to his next discovery, his next adventure.
Application
We usually find what we are looking for. I’m thinking of that famous story about the little boy who was mucking out the horse stalls. The stall he was cleaning was full of horse poop but he was whistling and smiling as he cleaned the stall. An adult came by and asked him how he could be so positive. He smiled and said, “I know there’s a pony in here somewhere!”
That’s the kind of person David was. That’s the kind of person I want to be. I want to look for the beauty in every person, every situation, every station in life.
Prayer
Lord, when David says, “Who out there has a lust for life?” I want to jump to my feet, raise my hand and say, “I do!” I can hardly wait to see all the beauty you’ve hidden in the day ahead.