Monday, December 22, 2025

Reflection - Psalm 141 - Cracked Lenses

Source (book): "My Soul Thirsts For God", Reflections on the Psalms from Our Daily Bread, Psalm 141, "Cracked Lenses", Page 176.
By Bill Crowder, Our Daily Bread Writer



Psalm 141
PHOTO: Psalm 141
O Lord, I call to you, come quickly to me;
hear my voice when I call to you.
May my prayer be set before you like incense;
may the lifting up of my hands be like the evening sacrifice.

Set a guard over my mouth, O Lord;
keep watch over the door of my lips.
Let not my heart be drawn to what is evil
to take part in wicked deeds
with men who are evildoers;
let me not eat their delicacies.

Let a righteous man strike me — it is a kindness;
let him rebuke me — it is oil on my head.
My head will not refuse it.

Yet my prayer is ever against the deeds of evildoers.
Their rulers will be thrown down from the cliffs,
 and the wicked will learn that my words were well spoken.
They will say, “
As one plows and breaks up the earth,
so our bones have been scattered at the mouth of the grave.


But my eyes are fixed on you, O Sovereign Lord;
in you I take refuge — do not give me over to death.
Keep me from the snares they have laid for me,
from the traps set by evildoers.
Let the wicked fall into their own nets,
while I pass by in safety.


Cracked Lenses
I started wearing glasses when I was ten years old. They are still a necessity because my fifty-something eyes are losing their battle against time. When I was younger, I thought glasses were a nuisance - especially when playing sports. Once, the lenses of my glasses got cracked while I was playing softball. It took several weeks to get them replaced. In the meantime, I saw everything in a
skewed (suddenly change direction or position) and distorted way.

In life, pain often functions like cracked lenses. It creates within us a conflict between what we experience and what we believe. Pain can give us a badly distorted perspective on life - and on God. In those times, we need our God to provide us with new lenses to help us see clearly again. That clarity of sight usually begins when we turn our eyes upon the Lord. The psalmist encouraged us to do this: "
My eyes are fixed on you, O Sovereign Lord, in you I take refuge" (Psalm 141:8). Seeing God clearly can help us see life's experiences more clearly.

As we turn our eyes to the Lord in times of pain and struggle, we will experience His comfort and hope in our daily lives. He will help us to see everything clearly again.
- Bill Crowder
Picture posted by flowersong🦋
Picture modified by DeeVid AI AI Image Generator and Editor at
https://deevid.ai/ai-image-generator?utm_id=nano-banana2&utm_source=google&utm_medium=cpc&utm_campaign=c-image-editor&utm_term=image-editor&utm_content=pc&gad_source=1&gad_campaignid=22975581494&gclid=Cj0KCQiAosrJBhD0ARIsAHebCNrufq9eW7Fhr7xvvp-a5Uz1zNiWfS64fXWvRy5cRx_MT0ZpxmrYjPkaAuTTEALw_wcB
Picture modified by realistic broken glass effect at https://funny.pho.to/broken-glass-effect/#
Psalm 141
O Lord, I call to you, come quickly to me;
hear my voice when I call to you.
May my prayer be set before you like incense;
may the lifting up of my hands be like the evening sacrifice.

Set a guard over my mouth, O Lord;
keep watch over the door of my lips.
Let not my heart be drawn to what is evil
to take part in wicked deeds
with men who are evildoers;
let me not eat their delicacies.

Let a righteous man strike me — it is a kindness;
let him rebuke me — it is oil on my head.
My head will not refuse it.

Yet my prayer is ever against the deeds of evildoers.
Their rulers will be thrown down from the cliffs,
 and the wicked will learn that my words were well spoken.
They will say, “
As one plows and breaks up the earth,
so our bones have been scattered at the mouth of the grave.


But my eyes are fixed on you, O Sovereign Lord;
in you I take refuge — do not give me over to death.
Keep me from the snares they have laid for me,
from the traps set by evildoers.
Let the wicked fall into their own nets,
while I pass by in safety.


ut my eyes are fixed on you, O Sovereign Lord;
PHOTO: But my eyes are fixed on you, O Sovereign Lord;
in you I take refuge — do not give me over to death.
Picture posted by Vimala Praisy
https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEivMCBi3zvIISH_bCC3iP5tLx8a_spdKtJs0ppFtlrHc6S8_5cjkmLlmwXxhXtZapFPTaao56K0GPxwxeqdtsSV8aPEdesVjVaxDTT9X3L0tSuGGGgknPR60Rb-FeRTrqpFVhK2z8fY_PoUEcprOIGuXQ-ZGK6CPS1_fajuO-Bh7lbp5ba10rNmFhhBsW4/s956/9639c2de6de9bf6ece6471850a50d0a0_1.png 
https://i.pinimg.com/1200x/96/39/c2/9639c2de6de9bf6ece6471850a50d0a0.jpg
https://www.pinterest.com/pin/22236591906817736/



Cracked Lenses
I started wearing glasses when I was ten years old. They are still a necessity because my fifty-something eyes are losing their battle against time. When I was younger, I thought glasses were a nuisance - especially when playing sports. Once, the lenses of my glasses got cracked while I was playing softball. It took several weeks to get them replaced. In the meantime, I saw everything in a
skewed (suddenly change direction or position) and distorted way.


I started wearing glasses when I was ten years old.
PHOTO: I started wearing glasses when I was ten years old. They are still a necessity because my fifty-something eyes are losing their battle against time. When I was younger, I thought glasses were a nuisance - especially when playing sports. Once, the lenses of my glasses got cracked while I was playing softball. It took several weeks to get them replaced. In the meantime, I saw everything in a skewed (suddenly change direction or position) and distorted way.
Picture posted by Aung Gyi
https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixmkoPEUcbRdxURJHcNzYOzSzhoMc93yBwz3XBDy-4uFJSm7NOwLFC9O4h_fQPQiLMppG0ioxYdnEYVtGXopOFDsb3yb4zTIE785JuqL6NTE0qNGCLJojZ8E8v6gQXn8UFnq20m9F72ePIuEz9_mx1L96KSpOolv4-5RjGOz0NwIWhW6QzxD0pMesZtPA/s1279/9c81ff860a16d5f1ca871eae7a1871ae_1.png
https://i.pinimg.com/originals/9c/81/ff/9c81ff860a16d5f1ca871eae7a1871ae.png
https://i.pinimg.com/1200x/5d/b0/74/5db074cd0c5b9263c4bf593155c87083.jpg
https://in.pinterest.com/pin/1111544751846600303/


In life, pain often functions like cracked lenses. It creates within us a conflict between what we experience and what we believe. Pain can give us a badly distorted perspective on life - and on God. In those times, we need our God to provide us with new lenses to help us see clearly again. That clarity of sight usually begins when we turn our eyes upon the Lord. The psalmist encouraged us to do this: "
My eyes are fixed on you, O Sovereign Lord, in you I take refuge" (Psalm 141:8). Seeing God clearly can help us see life's experiences more clearly.


In life, pain often functions like cracked lenses.
PHOTO: In life, pain often functions like cracked lenses. It creates within us a conflict between what we experience and what we believe. Pain can give us a badly distorted perspective on life - and on God. In those times, we need our God to provide us with new lenses to help us see clearly again. That clarity of sight usually begins when we turn our eyes upon the Lord. 
Picture posted by flowersong🦋
Picture modified by DeeVid AI AI Image Generator and Editor at
https://deevid.ai/ai-image-generator?utm_id=nano-banana2&utm_source=google&utm_medium=cpc&utm_campaign=c-image-editor&utm_term=image-editor&utm_content=pc&gad_source=1&gad_campaignid=22975581494&gclid=Cj0KCQiAosrJBhD0ARIsAHebCNrufq9eW7Fhr7xvvp-a5Uz1zNiWfS64fXWvRy5cRx_MT0ZpxmrYjPkaAuTTEALw_wcB
https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhKx_SBweGVSeoXPG68cq8PXMGTXch9fi1r-atbTygyvuJv-2eiQF2wm17OiwmQt741x9AfKlvveWmD46sGYMcHfGp-v_SR_DrLI5cxBZHnPr8nFxBy9JNlPWToa0KnA1Myv-xf2Ae60qIWjv6bA9ZPS0Hq2CxjmzguhZT7Zv7w0_CuaoSiNLfx_jaO_sM/s2048/9d6fa1374876508af524fe394e006473_13_11.png
https://i.pinimg.com/1200x/9d/6f/a1/9d6fa1374876508af524fe394e006473.jpg
https://www.pinterest.com/pin/384424518213867398/

  The psalmist encouraged us to do this:
PHOTO: The psalmist encouraged us to do this: "My eyes are fixed on you, O Sovereign Lord, in you I take refuge" (Psalm 141:8). Seeing God clearly can help us see life's experiences more clearly. 


As we turn our eyes to the Lord in times of pain and struggle, we will experience His comfort and hope in our daily lives. He will help us to see everything clearly again.
- Bill Crowder
 

Dear Lord
PHOTO: "Dear Lord, we pray that as we turn our eyes to the Lord in times of pain and struggle, we will experience His comfort and hope in our daily lives. He will help us to see everything clearly again.

Through Lord Jesus Christ we pray. Amen.
"
Picture posted by BBaster25

https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEib2jg6uKrUTNxzIYEP8Sa-G_nYuvVTGnjnsYuh9WIiNSF_LBao49mkIyYr8Mif09Ns8PwkQrd_mwaTA0YaMwEvIPTNCTKf3wMHoNC0CCgpnvw2GlLNeeM5C3t1hikaMvcCT8vejx84I0Tvx8AZRJ8_9t8fL7e0vcho45zaIqiLQIcQ0Q-HsvQor9Fi8Iw/s1440/40dad2c2342b47163c5319bd13691ab9_1.png
https://i.pinimg.com/1200x/40/da/d2/40dad2c2342b47163c5319bd13691ab9.jpg
https://www.pinterest.com/pin/916341855444410157/


Reflection - Psalm 141 - Cracked Lenses
Source (book): "My Soul Thirsts For God", Reflections on the Psalms from Our Daily Bread, Psalm 141, "Cracked Lenses", Page 176.
By Bill Crowder, Our Daily Bread Writer




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Reference
[1] From "My Soul Thirsts For God", Reflections on the Psalms from Our Daily Bread, Copyright @ 2009 by Discovery House Publishers, Psalm 141, "Cracked Lenses", Page 176.

Links


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