Help us Lord to See What You See
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START WITH HEART
Lord, as You speak please help me listen with my whole heart and Holy Spirit please meet me today and make me more like Jesus.
Psalm 123:1-2
“I lift up my eyes to you, to you whose throne is in heaven. As the eyes of slaves look to the hand of the master; as the eyes of the maid look to the hand of her mistress so our eyes look to the Lord our God, till He shows us mercy.”
The other day a friend and myself were chatting, sharing and praying together on the phone. In that time I was doodling and only at the end as we were about to say goodbye, I realized that the doodling actually ended up in a picture displaying a beautifully fanned tail of a Peacock and I said to my friend, this I think has some significance and we agreed to ask and wait on the Lord what he wants to tell us and teach our hearts.
From primary school days we may all remember the idiom ‘’proud as a peacock” speaking of vanity and pride. Thank you Lord for showing us that we can ask You to please show us any pride that is still hiding in our hearts that we can repent of and gain freedom from, as you encourage us in Psalm 139:24 where it says, “show me if there is any offensive way in me and lead me in the way everlasting”. And Father, I do realize that I need your help and grace to actually recognize when pride is crouching at my heart’s door looking to gain entry to dwell there. And please help me by Your grace to have the will then to reject it and choose humility in Jesus’ name.
The Lord also showed that often we as people are so easily impressed and absorbed by what we look at. For example, when we look at something as magnificent as a peacock’s fanned tail.
It also became clear that when we stand very close to what we are looking at, it takes up 180 degrees of our visual field and we do not see much else. It can be something very beautiful like a peacock’s fanned tail with its striking colors or it can be something very sad or worrying that draws all our attention.
We must be careful that our minds and hearts are not totally absorbed by what is in our current or immediate view and possibly act on it prematurely. Let us remember to deliberately take a few steps back, expanding our focus and look to the Lord our God who will help us by his grace to see beyond the physical beauty or the difficulty of the moment and to see what He actually sees.
So let us search for Him and His counsel as for hidden treasure.
In 1 Samuel 16:7b the Lord tells us that “the Lord does not look at the things man looks at. Man looks at the outward appearance but the Lord looks at the heart”. It is an encouragement and challenge again to look deeper at the heart of the things we see and feel and to seek and really listen to what the Lord is saying to us about the things our hearts and minds are so impressed with. And then with his help obey and follow his counsel.
The Lord Jesus truly is our wonderful counselor and guide and wants to give us a life abundant with his peace and love and joy all the days of our lives as we walk and talk with Him, our God.
Psalm 16:7 expresses this so aptly: “I will praise the Lord who counsels me; even at night he instructs my heart” and in verse 11 it continues, “You have made known to me the path of life. You fill me with joy in your presence with eternal pleasures at your right hand.”
Isn’t that wow!
Let us ask the Lord to remind and help us to look to him, as a default, and include him in all the moments of our day and in all the circumstances of our lives whether happy or sad, just as the Psalmist did in Psalm 123:1-2.
“I lift up my eyes to you, to you whose throne is in heaven. As the eyes of slaves look to the hand of the master; as the eyes of the maid look to the hand of her mistress so our eyes look to the Lord our God, till He shows us mercy.”
JOURNALING QUESTIONS:
- What impression did I have with an experience that stirred my heart lately?
- Did I then and do I stop and actually take note of my own thoughts and feelings or do I just let my thoughts go as they come?
- Do I automatically draw my own conclusion on what I see, feel or hear or do I look to the Lord and make time to wait on Him to hear and see what He wants me to see and hear and learn, surrendering my thoughts and feelings to His perfect and loving counsel?
Lord Jesus, we are so grateful and we thank You and praise You that You are always waiting and ready to give us Your life-giving counsel.
Please help us to hear it and follow you.
WORSHIP SONG:
Open the Eyes of My Heart, by M.W. Smith.
by Marion Hagspihl
