Where Are You Looking?

I sense the need to turn my attention to God as I read the Word of God and spend time in prayer.  Many things are taking place in our society which creates much concern and anxiety in our individual lives as well as the corporate church.  How will we respond to those situations?  I sincerely feel that our response must be one of a positive release of our faith.  We must choose to look to God and recognize that He is present in the midst of our difficulties.

A.W. Tozer makes this observation: "We must shift our interest from the seen to the unseen.  For the greatest unseen reality is God."  Each of us know that it is so easy to become captured by what we see and by what we feel.  Our emotional senses can be greatly influenced by those events and circumstances that are taking place to us as well as in us.  It is during those moments that we must make the conscious decision to turn our eyes to Jesus and understand the promise and power of His presence.  The challenge we face is finding the strength, energy, desire and faith to make that shift from the seen to the unseen.  It is easier to "see" what is taking place than to see the ability and power of Christ to move us through that challenging moment in our lives.  We must remember that we are the only ones that can make the choice to turn our attention to the "unseen reality of God."

After service last night one of the ladies of the church shared this testimony with me.  "It was 24 years ago today that I buried my 19 year old son who had tragically been killed in a car accident.  My grief and sorrow was overwhelming.  It seemed that I would never be able to come out of the darkness of the moment and the feeling that I had in my heart would never end.  I was in great despair and did not know if I could make it through those trying days.  I would find myself weeping in agony and sorrow; I was looking for help and strength that I did not have.  I went to the cemetery one day feeling overwhelmed with grief, sorrow, despair and discouragement.  I looked to the sky as I stood weeping by the grave site of my son.  It was at that moment that I heard the Voice of the Lord; He made this brief but powerful declaration over my life.  The voice said, "This is not the end but the beginning."  It was as if the presence of peace and relief began to flood my soul as I realized that God's view of the situation was very different from my view of the situation.  I began to sense the "peace that passes all understanding."  From that moment on I began to feel the Spirit performing the process of healing in my heart, mind, and spirit.  And today I still walk in the strength of those words; "This is not the end but the beginning."

Through the power of the Spirit we can turn our attention from the seen to the unseen reality of Christ at work in our circumstances!  Make the decision to look for the presence of Christ even during your most difficult and challenging moments of life.