What You See and What You Don't
Lord willing, we'll pick back up with our series on confidence on Monday, but for today, I want to revisit a topic I mentioned a couple of months ago. In the devotion entitled, Up Close and Personal, I discussed macro photography, which focuses on an image and makes it larger than life, allowing the viewer to make out every detail. In that post, we looked at how our relationship with God depends on our willingness to get close enough to Him to make out every detail of His nature.
Today, I want to focus, oddly enough, on the part of macro photography that is not in focus. By zeroing in so tightly on the object of the picture, the photographer makes the choice to leave everything else in a bit of a haze. The single red flower stands out vividly while the rest of the field blurs in the background. That is the nature of macro photography. In order for the main object to stand out in great detail, all other objects must be obscured from view. Only then will the focal point truly be the focal point.
As I recently viewed several images taken with macro photography, the lyrics to an old hymn began to play in the back of my mind. "Turn your eyes upon Jesus. Look full in His wonderful face, and the things of earth will grow strangely dim in the light of His glory and grace." Looking to Jesus is macro photography at its best. When we focus our attention on the Lord, everything else fades into the background. The troubles seem so insignificant. The giants look so small. The extraordinary becomes ordinary.
We, however, tend to make the wrong things the object of our portrait. We focus on the money problems and the unfulfilling career. We spend our time and energy trying to figure things out, to make things work, to stretch the budget or cut the costs. We run around like Chicken Little, constantly fearing the world is caving in on us. Thus, our portrait is one of panic and misery, and the only thing that fades from view is God, blurred into the background because He is out of focus.
Funny, the online dictionary defines tunnel vision as "defective sight in which objects cannot be properly seen if not close to the center of the field of view." Defective sight. Broken. Wrong. But when it comes to walking the Christian life, I think we should have tunnel vision, and right in the center of our field of view is Jesus. That's not to say we should ignore our family or our obligations, but if we'll keep our eyes on Christ, He will enable us to do what we need to do and in such a way as will produce peace instead of stress, grace instead of frustration, and joy instead of drudgery.
A blessed life boils down to what you see and what you don't. So, what are you focused on today?
“Unto thee lift I up mine eyes, O thou that dwellest in the heavens.”
Are You Watching the Storm or the God of the Storm?
Today, we'll cover step #3: Watch carefully.
And Moses said unto the people, Fear ye not, stand still, and see the salvation of the Lord, which he will shew to you to day: for the Egyptians whom ye have seen to day, ye shall see them again no more for ever. The Lord shall fight for you, and ye shall hold your peace. - Exodus 14:13-14
See the salvation of the Lord.
Notice Moses told them to look to God. Don't focus on the sea before you or the enemy behind you. Don't worry about what your friends are doing. Don't focus your attention on what you don't have or can't do.
Look to God and watch Him work.
It sounds simple enough, but if we stop and think about it, we realize it's not simple at all.
I don't know about you, but I'm not the type of person who can sit back and do nothing while someone else is busy at work. If Jason is working in the kitchen, it feels wrong for me to sit down in the living room and read a book or watch television. I ought to be helping or maybe even performing a different task (Heaven knows there are always plenty of things to do). I realize this doesn't bother some people. For example, when the roles are reversed, Jason has no problem sitting on the couch reading a magazine while I fix dinner or do dishes. It doesn't phase him at all. That's fine, but it drives me crazy. I don't like feeling unproductive, especially when those around me are busy accomplishing something.
But just as we said in the previous post, we can get so busy trying to help ourselves out of our situation that we get in God's way and mess with His plans. But more than that, we miss out on an opportunity to witness the miraculous.
We're so busy looking at what we're doing that we miss what God is doing. And, God is not the type to shout, "Over here! Look at me! I'm about to do something amazing!" No, He's already told us where our eyes should be, so if we're not paying attention, that's our fault.
I don't want to miss out on God's blessings for my life because I'm not paying attention. I would hate to think that my troubles have me so distracted that I lose sight of who God is and all that He has done and is doing in my life.
I'm reminded of an episode o Doctor Who where these creepy angel statues would come to life whenever you weren't looking at them. In a warning video about the statues, Doctor Who commented,
"Don't turn your back. Don't look away. And don't blink!"
I think that's how we need to be with God. Don't blink. Don't take your eyes off of Him. Don't be distracted by the good or bad things of this world. Just watch God.
Watch carefully. You don't want to miss what He will do next!
I have set the Lord always before me: because he is at my right hand, I shall not be moved. Therefore my heart is glad, and my glory rejoiceth: my flesh also shall rest in hope. - Psalm 16:8-9
Where To Glance and Where To Gaze
Am I the only one who has a problem with televisions in restaurants? I understand that those dining alone might appreciate watching the game or catching up on the news, but for the rest of us who are dining with family or friends, those stupid televisions are distracting. Take my precious husband, for example. When we dine in a restaurant that has televisions, we have to make a conscious effort to seat him back to the offending beast (when that's even possible). Why? Because the constant movement on the screen captures his attention, making him inattentive to anyone else at the table.
It's bad enough that technology has made it possible for anyone to reach us anywhere at any time via our cell phones. But now we have to contend with the distractions of televisions too. In restaurants. Where we have gone to get out of the house and away from the television. Good grief! Does anyone else see the irony?
Though I have, on rare occasions, grown frustrated with poor Jason for paying more attention to the big screen than to me, I can hardly blame him. Bright lights, blaring noises and constant motion are hard to compete with (unless I want to jump up on the table and do the hula while singing at the top of my lungs though I doubt that will evoke the kind of attention I want). Let's face it. Things that move, hop, jump, swirl and dance are much more likely to catch our attention than things that are stable, steady and unmovable. Movement makes us want to gaze while stillness causes us to only glance. Is it any wonder, then, that we have trouble in our spiritual walk?
Thoughts, emotions and circumstances swirl through our lives in a constant, frantic motion, drawing our attention this way and that. With so much going on around us, it's easy to lose focus and to find ourselves gazing at our circumstances. The trouble is that if we're gazing at our problems, we're only glancing at our Savior. Unlike our troubles, He remains steady, unmovable and constant. He seldom resorts to using bright lights, blaring noises and motion to get our attention. He is simply there. Always present. Always the same. Always available. Always attentive to our every need and cry. And always longing for our attention.
Could it be that we need to take a proactive approach when it comes to determining our gazes and glances? Jason and I both understand the trouble caused when he's facing a television in a restaurant, and because we understand the problem, we make a conscious effort to place him outside of temptation by turning his back to the television. Perhaps we need to do the same in our spiritual walk through life. First, we need to understand and admit that we are easily distracted by the things of this world, and that distraction causes us to spend time and effort gazing at all the wrong things. Second, being aware of our issue, we need to try to place ourselves outside of temptation. If a certain person, place or activity causes us to lose our focus on Christ, then we need to make some changes. If our troubles and circumstances beyond our control are stealing our time and attention, perhaps we need to spend more time with the Lord, resting in His capable arms.
Yes, the flashy and urgent more easily grab our attention, but what do they offer us in return? Nothing! Whereas, the Lord, who is constant and steady, promises us peace, joy, comfort and so much more. He longs for us to turn our gazes upon Him, leaving everything else with only a mere glance.
I have set the Lord always before me: because he is at my right hand, I shall not be moved. - Psalm 16:8
What Are You Staring At?
I saw this experiment done a few days ago, and it nearly blew me away. Looking at the picture with the four snowflakes, allow your eyes to focus on a single snowflake. Stare at that one snowflake for several seconds and watch what begins to happen to the other snowflakes. (You may need to click on the picture to enlarge it for this to work.) They begin to fade, blink or even disappear altogether. Is that cool or what?
Why does this happen? Basically, our brains process the information sent to us by the eyes. We see something, and the brain processes exactly what it is we're seeing and then determines what to do with that information. Because of limited storage space; however, the brain doesn't retain all of the information that it records. Sometimes, it has to decide what to keep and what to throw away. (We are fearfully and wonderfully made!) When we focus on a particular thing for an extended length of time, the brain assumes that everything else is unnecessary and will actually move the information to the trash bin. So, while our eyes can still see four separate snowflakes, our minds have forgotten that the other three are there. I find that completely fascinating!
I also find it frustratingly familiar but in a different sense. How many times have I focused on my problems to the point that I nearly forgot about God altogether? How many times have I become so captivated by my situation that God practically disappears from my life? How many times have I stared at my trials then found myself asking, "Where did you go, God?" Like the other three snowflakes, He's still there, but it's been so long since I've focused on Him that my brain has categorized Him as unnecessary.
Life is hard and sometimes unfair, and it is all too easy to get distracted by the many things that weigh us down day after day. But we must be careful that we never take our eyes off the one, true answer to all of life's problems: God! Not only is He a problem-solver, but He is also a Father, a Friend, a Counselor, a Guide, a Comforter and so much more. He is all that we need, yet so often, He is the one thing we leave out. And after a while, we begin to wonder if He was ever here to begin with.
Look to Jesus today. Don't take your eyes off Him for a moment. Yes, the problems are big, but God is bigger. Yes, the situation is tough, but God is tougher. Sure, the battle is tiring, but God can give you strength. Cling to Him. Call to Him. And think about this: if God fades from view when we stare at our problems, what will happen to our problems when we stare at God? To borrow the words from an old hymn, "Turn your eyes upon Jesus. Look full in His wonderful face, and the things of earth will grow strangely dim in the light of His glory and grace."
So I ask you, what are you staring at?
I have set the Lord always before me: because he is at my right hand, I shall not be moved. - Psalm 16:8