When I was a child and we'd cruise down the highway in my parents' Chevy station wagon, I would often gaze out the window and watch the scenery whip by me in a blur. Every so often, my eye would catch a glimpse of something that I wanted to go back and take a closer look at, but it was too late - we'd already sped past.
Much of my life is like that - I'm moving at laser speed and I don't slow down to truly "see" what is right in front of me. For 2016, I have chosen the word "see" as my watchword for the year. I am smart enough and old enough to know not to set lofty resolutions, but I can work on truly seeing.
Our God is El Roi...the God who sees. He never takes His eyes off me. I am created in His image, so I too, am called to see. I want my eyes to not only glimpse, but to dwell long enough to take in the depths of:
His Creation
His gifts to me
His will for me
I believe that the eyes are the window of the soul. I want to look beyond the facades and masks that others wear and look long enough to see others' hurt, pain, and suffering. Having lived my life with on again/off again depression and anxiety, I can look (with pretty good accuracy) and see when others are depressed, suffering, aching, or are in need of being "seen".
My choice now, is am I going to slow down long enough to show Christ's love to them? Or, am I going to leave their faces as a blur as I whip by at my hectic pace?
I like the passage in "The Greatest Gift" by Ann Voskamp that says:
"People aren't bodies; they are hearts. We could train our eyes to turn everything inside out.
'Why should the eye be so lazy? Let us exercise the eye until it learns to see,' writes G. K. Chesterton. Let us exercise the eye until it sees through the fat of things, down to the eternal of things. Let us exercise the eye by walking with Christ.
There is this call for every Christian to answer His calling to be an ocular surgeon. Our seeing must cut through surfaces and down to souls."
Scripture says that God looks not at the outward appearance, but at the heart. I, too, want to be one who sees others' hearts. A also want to "see" the heart of God as He sees me.
Seeing is a two way street - being seen, and seeing God and others.
I ask the Lord to give me rich insights as I see Him in EVERY circumstance of my life.
Give me insight - let me "see in" to God, others, and the world around me.
Often horses in a race or pulling carriages have blinders on so that they don't get spooked by distractions around them. I pray that God would remove the blinders I've fastened on my eyes. Full vision is needed for seeing the complexity of God's signs and wonders.
When I am "spooked" by the enemy's lies, I pray that God would give me eyes to see and DISCERN His truth.
Seeing = Discerning
In order to see His Truth, I need to keep my eyes firmly fixed on Him!
When I take the time to truly see God - to gaze into His eyes, I sense Him lifting my head ever so gently and gazing at me with the soulful eyes of a Good Father. He whispers to me, "You are loved!"
What is your word for 2016??
Dear Lord, help me to stop, be intentional, and actually see You in new and glorious ways. I also want to truly see others and what's going on in their lives so that I might love them better. I want to not be in such a hurry that I can actually focus on the here and now...what is right in front of my nose. I pray for the ability to truly see the pain others are suffering and lend support whether it's across the street or across the globe. I want to see myself as You see me...to look at life through Your lens...not my own. Lord, let it be so in my life. In the precious name of Jesus I pray, Amen.
Be blessed...
ps. Will you take the time to truly "see" the young, destitute victims of the evil going on in the Middle East? Hate is making orphans out of these precious children of God. For just $12/month you can get one child off the dangerous streets and into the classroom at Redeemer Christian School in Pakistan. Check out the MISSIONS tab above and send your contribution now to:
Redeemer Christian Foundation, Inc.
103 Silver Lining Lane
Cary, NC 27513
25+ impoverished children are on the waiting list, waiting for your response. Please make 2016 a life saving year for them!!
**giving statements will be sent at the end of 2016**
