Through God's Eyes
This has been a very lesson-packed
week if you hadn’t guessed yet by the many posts I had to publish all at once. Unfortunately, I haven’t had my ready
internet access either, so the lessons to share have been stacking up. It was the Friday night before last and my
parents and I were getting ready to call it a day when my dad made a remark
that has stuck with me and that whose lesson I felt prompted to share with you.
My dad had his reading glasses on
and was admiring his growing rabbit’s foot fern when he observed that he goes
through life accustomed to not seeing very clearly without his glasses but that
when he puts his glasses on, it’s like “Wow.”
Even as he was speaking the words, my God-radar went off- the Holy
Spirit in me. There was a lesson to be
learned in that remark, and as I sought in that moment to find what it was, God
revealed its lesson to me. I’m learning that
He never denies teaching an eager student.
So often we’re like my dad described. We go through life seeing only a vague, blurred
image. But what if we could see things
the way that God sees them? I wonder
what would happen if we could see ourselves, those around us, and life itself
through God’s eyes. What if we allowed
Him to give us the “glasses” of His eternal perspective and we could suddenly
see everything clearly as it really is?
But unfortunately, that often isn’t
the case. Instead, we become content
with our view as it is and grow accustomed to seeing a blurred world until we
think nothing of it. With our temporal
and materialistic perspective, we so easily become preoccupied with our
situations in life. With our cares, our
concerns, our worries, our troubles. The
things of this world, of our society and culture, that plague upon our
minds. But what if we could see our
difficulties through God’s eyes?
“Therefore we do not lose heart.
Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed
day by day. For our light and momentary
troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them
all. So we fix our eyes not on what is
seen, but on what is unseen. For what is
seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.” (2Co 4:16-18) “Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and
perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross,
scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. Consider him who endured such opposition from
sinful men, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart.” (Heb
12:2&3) Would the problems that so
weigh us down really seem that big after all?
We fret about the opinions of others
and about measuring up to standards that others have placed upon us. We struggle with insecurities about our
appearance, our abilities, our skill sets, and we judge others with the same
ruler. But what if we could see
ourselves and others the way that God sees us all? Not by appearance, social status, or talents,
but by the heart. “But the Lord said to
Samuel, ‘Do not consider his appearance or his height, for I have rejected
him. The Lord does not look at the
things man looks at. Man looks at the
outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart.” (1Sa 16:7) “Listen, my dear brothers: Has not God chosen
those who are poor in the eyes of the world to be rich in faith and to inherit
the kingdom he promised those who love him?” (Jas 2:5)
We so often live in the shadow of
the past and regrets. We look back at
the things behind- where we have come from rather than where we are going. But what if we could see the hope of our
journeys and our futures and of all of our tomorrows the way that God sees
them? “Let your eyes look straight
ahead, fix your gaze directly before you.
Make level paths for your feet and take only ways that are firm. Do not swerve to the right or the left; keep
your foot from evil.” (Pr 4:25-27)
What if we could see the assignments
He has place right before us in the here and now? What if we could see the mission field that
God sees all around us each and every day?
“Do you not say, ‘Four months more and then the harvest’? I tell you, open your eyes and look at the
fields! They are ripe for harvest. Even now the reaper draws his wages, even now
he harvests the crop for eternal life, so that the sower and the reaper may be
glad together. Thus the saying ‘One sows
and another reaps’ is true.” (Jn 4:35-37)
I wonder what would happen if we
could see the world in which we live through God’s eyes. Would we live a freer life unhampered by so
many cares? Would we think differently
of ourselves and others and not be so quick to judge? Would we let go of the past and live with the
hope of the future plans God has in store for us? Would we spend a little more time sowing and
reaping and a little less time waiting for a later time or for somebody else to
do it? I wonder, would we live our lives
differently if we could only see as God sees?
While cleaning out my room recently,
I discovered on a scrap of paper tucked away this saying I had written many
years ago: “Beauty of Life: inner peace that passes all understanding, genuine
love, pure joy, true contentment, satisfaction of serving others, the blessing
and favor of being in the Lord’s will.”
I don’t know if I had jotted that quote down simply because I liked it
or if I had written that definition myself, but whoever wrote it had it just
about right and was looking through God’s lens I’d say. So I encourage you today to begin asking God,
as I have, to give you the glasses of His eternal perspective and to help you
to see the things in your life through His eyes. To open your eyes to everything that we keep
missing as we live day to day, to the beauty of life, and to help you not be
content with the blurred view anymore, but to see the clear image He sees.
“Open
my eyes that I may see wonderful things in your law.” Psalm 119:18
*Check out the
familiar song Give Me Your Eyes by Brandon Heath. :)
Photo courtesy: www.123rf.com
~We’ve all heard of the phrase “pulling on her/ his heartstrings,”
but heart-chords? I was struggling to
decide what to name my blog. I wanted it
to be a name that was both creative and meaningful. As I pondered, my gaze fell upon my acoustic
guitar where it stands in my bedroom, and the Lord reminded me that our hearts-
our lives- are instruments. They are
constantly in song, but what melody our heart plays is each of our own
decisions. They can play a melody for
praise or for entertainment. A musician
selects his songs according to his audience.
So do we. Whether our audience is
the world or the Lord, our song will be different. This blog is designed to first, increase my
awareness in finding God and His guidance in my every day and second, to share
the music lessons He teaches me in tuning my heart to learn the chords of
praise He longs to play on my heart-instrument.
Music is a powerful tool. Use it
for His glory. “He put a new song in my mouth, a hymn of
praise to our God. Many will see and fear
and put their trust in the Lord.” Psalm 40:3
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