Vertically Challenged

At 5’ 4”, I am not short; I am vertically challenged.

But my height (or lack thereof) is not the only area I face this issue in.

I find that I am also vertically challenged in the sense that I have a hard time keeping my eyes on God. All too often, I end up frustrated and empty because my eyes are on the people and situations around me, when God is waiting for me to turn my eyes to Him so He can fill me with the peace and love only He can give. In a way, it’s like gravity; I can only fill a glass with water if it is standing vertically, not if it is lying horizontally. In the same way, God can only fill me up if my focus is on Him, not when my focus is on myself or the people and situations around me. I’m not saying God doesn’t use people to encourage and challenge each other; He does that all the time! But if I constantly look to be filled by other people and don’t take time to be filled by Him, I’m going to be empty. When I take time to sit in His presence and be still before Him, He will fill me to overflowing, and it will spill over onto those around me.

Being vertically focused is such a challenge to me that most days, it is a struggle to do much more than send up an occasional, ‘Help me please, God’ when I am in a bad situation. But as I get into His word and discover more about Him, the words on the pages of my Bible come alive in the shape of His character, and He shows me how He wants me to live and love the people around me. Then as I spend more time getting to know Him, it becomes an addiction of the very best kind as I realize that I cannot get enough of it.

Obviously, being vertically challenged is not a real medical condition, but I believe that it is a real Spiritual condition. It’s an epidemic that can only be stopped when we start being intentional about where we allow our focus to lie.