Half-empty or Half-full Glass

Is your glass half-full or half-empty?

I have always thought this saying was rather trite and kind of stupid . . . probably because I have been a half-empty guy; but what I am seeing today is that this saying applied to spiritual living is Life and Truth.

I have always believed in God’s “allowance” of hurtful things in my life.  This separated Him from the pain that I felt and gave me an out as to not blame Him.  But I am finding this is not totally accurate.  In actuality, He works things together to produce an aimed goal.  My pain does not factor in the equation.

God has woven into the fabric of my life painful threads.  Some have caused me great grief and lifetime crisis.   His shuttle passed through with purposed threads to work a tapestry more amazing than I could have known. But these sorrowful cords are awful, difficult and distressing.  If I look at them individually or as a stand-alone entity I couldn’t bear them but in the work unfolding . . . they’re beautiful.

So back to the half-empty/half-full analogy.  Life is full of bitter waters.  Yet my response to these unpleasantries makes a ground for bitterness and resentment or a host for fruitfulness and benefit. I was not promised pain-free living. No one said that calamity would not befall me.  I could give you a list and you could do the same for me – this is life.  But here is the kicker: can we see it in the Light of His purposed work?  Do I see His blessing, or do I see theft?  The former is a platform where I will grow and be expanded.  A half-empty glass usually states that I have been cheated or something has been withheld from me.  It stems from ingratitude and suspicion.  A glass half-full states I am cared for and I am known. This stems from a receptive heart and giving thanks.

Now as I look into my life, I can see where I have tons of half-empty moments. I have times and events where I second-guessed God, checking His motives through my own judgment and opinions. He is always left wanting in these cases and I leave bitter and without Him.  My seeing of the glass as half-empty is exactly that: empty.  But increasingly, I have circumstances that bear the half-full mark.  And these are the moments that He is able to move all about me and through me to produce FULLNESS.

So what I saw as a stupid, trite statement is becoming a call from the All-Sufficient God.  There are sufferings divinely ordained in my life.  Resisting them only causes me to lose the benefits, which God intended me to gain through these sufferings.  Kind of silly!  I am going to feel the aching because it is there, but it would be foolish to miss the Reward through simple ingratitude and rebellion.