Looking at HIM
What a sneaky deceiver our enemy is! Using every trick to trip us up! Deceiving us to fix our eyes on our faults and poor condition... How bad we are, instead of how AWESOME HE IS. But HE taught us another way. HE said, fix your eyes on me, the author and perfecter of our faith! (Heb 12:12). HE said, I will keep in perfect peace, him whose mind is stayed on me! (Is. 26:3). HE said, press on towards the goal! (Phil. 3:14).
It is much better to fix my eyes and think on what is true, noble, right, pure, lovely and admirable and praiseworthy...(Phil 4:8). And HE, the King of Kings and Lord of lords, the Holy One who paid the price for me. The ONE who's compassion and mercies fail not. The ONE who gives me joy and peace! The ONE who prepares a place for me. HE is.
The REALITY is that if I fixed my eyes on Jesus more fully, I would probably not make many of the mistakes I make.
Look at Job. Immediately after his world came crashing down in chapter 1 of JOB, he fell down on the ground to worship the Lord. He turned his eyes to GOD! He acknowledged that the Lord gives, and the Lord takes away, but he chose to PRAISE the name of the Lord! And in Verse 22 of Job, we see how "in all this, Job did not sin".
Imagine for a moment, if instead, Job focused on the tragedy that had just happened! And it WAS Horrible!!! I mean, literally servant after servant after servant, in fact, before each servant had even finished speaking (ch.1, vs 16, 17, 18), the next was there to give more bad news... Job lost his oxen, donkeys, and all those servants, save one, his sheep and servants, save one, his camels and servants, save one, and to top it all off!!! He lost all his sons and daughters!! He LOST, what most of us would call, EVERYTHING! He could have focused on the situation... He could have asked, WHY GOD!? He could have focused on himself and asked, WHAT DID I DO TO DESERVE THIS?! But He didn't accuse God, but rather, fixed His eyes on him and PRAISED him.
That sneaky deceiver. He wants us to feel bad for ourselves in trials. HE wants us to condemn ourselves and focus on how bad we are. He wants us to analyze and think about how we can make ourselves better. Or maybe just to think about ourselves... He wants us to bear the burden of focusing on ourselves and so defeat us.
God wants us to focus on HIM. He wants us to meditate on HIS faithfulness and goodness! HE wants us to think about how with God, ALL things are possible! (Matt 19:26) He wants us to focus on what is TRUE! That we can do ALL things through HIM who gives us strength! (Phil 4:13) GOD wants us to remember that if HE is for us, WHO can be against us?? (Rom. 8:31).
Lord, help me to fix my eyes on you today. Because I know that looking at you DOES cause me to change and become more like you. With eyes fixed on you, I walk closer to you, and that Lord, is the place that I want to be. Please forgive me, Lord, for getting my eyes turned to myself. I want to turn them again to you, and so rest in perfect peace...
It is much better to fix my eyes and think on what is true, noble, right, pure, lovely and admirable and praiseworthy...(Phil 4:8). And HE, the King of Kings and Lord of lords, the Holy One who paid the price for me. The ONE who's compassion and mercies fail not. The ONE who gives me joy and peace! The ONE who prepares a place for me. HE is.
The REALITY is that if I fixed my eyes on Jesus more fully, I would probably not make many of the mistakes I make.
Look at Job. Immediately after his world came crashing down in chapter 1 of JOB, he fell down on the ground to worship the Lord. He turned his eyes to GOD! He acknowledged that the Lord gives, and the Lord takes away, but he chose to PRAISE the name of the Lord! And in Verse 22 of Job, we see how "in all this, Job did not sin".
Imagine for a moment, if instead, Job focused on the tragedy that had just happened! And it WAS Horrible!!! I mean, literally servant after servant after servant, in fact, before each servant had even finished speaking (ch.1, vs 16, 17, 18), the next was there to give more bad news... Job lost his oxen, donkeys, and all those servants, save one, his sheep and servants, save one, his camels and servants, save one, and to top it all off!!! He lost all his sons and daughters!! He LOST, what most of us would call, EVERYTHING! He could have focused on the situation... He could have asked, WHY GOD!? He could have focused on himself and asked, WHAT DID I DO TO DESERVE THIS?! But He didn't accuse God, but rather, fixed His eyes on him and PRAISED him.
That sneaky deceiver. He wants us to feel bad for ourselves in trials. HE wants us to condemn ourselves and focus on how bad we are. He wants us to analyze and think about how we can make ourselves better. Or maybe just to think about ourselves... He wants us to bear the burden of focusing on ourselves and so defeat us.
God wants us to focus on HIM. He wants us to meditate on HIS faithfulness and goodness! HE wants us to think about how with God, ALL things are possible! (Matt 19:26) He wants us to focus on what is TRUE! That we can do ALL things through HIM who gives us strength! (Phil 4:13) GOD wants us to remember that if HE is for us, WHO can be against us?? (Rom. 8:31).
Lord, help me to fix my eyes on you today. Because I know that looking at you DOES cause me to change and become more like you. With eyes fixed on you, I walk closer to you, and that Lord, is the place that I want to be. Please forgive me, Lord, for getting my eyes turned to myself. I want to turn them again to you, and so rest in perfect peace...
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