teach me your way, Lord, that I may rely on your faithfulness; give me an undivided heart, that I may fear your name... psalm 86:11

Tuesday, December 13, 2011

magnify...

I think I may have found my theme verse for 2012…

See, every year I choose a verse to summarize where I’m at and how I hope to grow. This past year the verse I claimed for myself was Isaiah 43:18-19… because it was a year of releasing things & people that I deeply loved without quite knowing what was ahead. This verse spoke of hope and newness and God’s faithfulness in the next chapter of life.

For this year, though, I want to shift the focus off of myself and my circumstances, and dwell more on the glory of who God is. And I found the perfect verse to encapsulate this while reading the story of the events surrounding the birth of Jesus. In a dialogue between herself and her sister, Mary is quoted as saying…

“My soul magnifies the Lord,
and my spirit has rejoiced in God my Savior.”
. luke 1:46-47 .


It was the word “magnifies” really that caught my eye. Such a lofty word… In old school days it simply meant to praise, but in recent times it’s taken on the connotation of enlarging your perspective of something. Honestly, I like both definitions.

It reminds me of Biology class long ago when we would get plastic slides of something that seemed like nothing, but under the eye of the microscope that “nothing” came to life as intricate, fascinating, living, moving creatures. What was invisible to the everyday eye was magnified so we could appreciate what had been there all along. When our perspective changed, it allowed us to see new & incredible things.

So I think my focus and prayer for 2012 will be to magnify and rejoice in the Lord. I want to see God where I would have otherwise overlooked Him. I want to comprehend Him in new depths that I otherwise wouldn’t have known. There’s something profound that happens within us when we allow Him to be magnified. I recently read “One of the worst things that can happen to a person is to live with a shrunken understanding of God, a shrunken soul.” Not only do I want my own view of God to be magnified, but I want to be a lens through which He is magnified to those around me too… that their perspective of who God is would be heightened… that they wouldn’t live any longer with a “shrunken soul”, but instead become alive with wonderment for this God that loves them with a crazy, fierce love.

As one year comes to a close and another one begins, may we seek to have a greater vision of who God is… and may our lives magnify to others the extraordinary God that we worship and serve…

9 comments:

  1. Great idea of claiming a verse for the year. I particularly love this part: "that their perspective of who God is would be heightened… that they wouldn’t live any longer with a “shrunken soul". Thanks for sharing.

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  2. I look forward to seeing where this takes you over the next year! Thanks for sharing!!!

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  3. Beautiful word. 2012 is going to be an amazing year. I've chosen Bravery as my word. Removing the Mask and accepting who it is that I am. Messy stories and all. Thanks for this.

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  4. The Magnificat. I think it is one of the most beautiful pieces of the Bible. You have chosen well. I love your idea to shift the focus in 2012. I think I need to do the same. Lovely, lovely verse.

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  5. Good points here. I think we do feel small (shrunken) inside when we're not focused on magnifying the Lord. Thanks for this encouraging post.

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  6. a shrunken soul...powerful description...to be a lens through which He is magnified...great words...
    Blessings~

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  7. Hi Denise - I love this. Glorifying God will make your circumstances diminish and as we focus on God, and glorify Him, He changes things in our lives and only blessing remains. So glad you linked up and hope many of the ladies hop over and read this.
    God bless
    Tracy

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  8. You brought a new level of meaning to the word "magnify," at least for me! I'll be meditating on this thought over the next few days.
    Thank you for your "Thought-Provoking" post. :-)

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  9. Stopping by from Shauna's blog...love all you have to write about. Thanks for the encouragement. I'm adding you to mine and will come back again. Merry Christmas!

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