“Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest” (Matthew 11:28, NIV)
We must steady my gaze upon our Lord. Faith doesn’t automatically just rise up on the situations and occasions we face as we live out our days. Our faith must always and continually be fixed on God. We must gaze upon Him and care, guidance and power, He brings to our days. Abraham’s gaze was fixed upon God and His provision enabling Abraham to walk in faith. Joshua’s gaze was fixed upon the mighty strength of Almighty God because he had faith in the God he knew and trusted. This faith empowered him to lead a vast nation into the Promised Land. David’s gaze was upon the hand of God and he did not see the giant before him but only the victory through the power of his God. Peter could walk on the water as long as his gaze was upon his Lord and he took each step in faith. Our gaze must be fixed on God as well. With our gaze fixed, our faith remains fixed in the struggle, in the bleakness, in the danger and fear, in the waiting, in the daunting, in the impossible and in the sustaining through everything we encounter and face.
In bleakness, we look for God’s provision and sufficiency. In struggle, we look for God’s support. In fear and danger, we look for God’s strength and rescue. In the daunting, we look for God’s mighty hand. In the impossible, we look for the possibilities of God’s presence. In the waiting, we look for God’s wisdom. In the unknowing, we look for God’s knowledge. In the bitter, we look for God’s grace. In the broken, we look to God’s remaking. In the shattering, we look for God’s mending. In the busy, we look for God’s calming. In the noisy, we look for God’s quieting. We fix our gaze on God because we know His love is steadfastly fixed on us and His love endures forever. We must even steady our gaze in the abundance, because if we see only abundance than all you have is abundance. Our abundance is a gift from God and we must remember to fix our gaze on Him in thankfulness.
If you glance at God while gazing at what is around you, you will over whelmed and consumed with what is around you. You have only yourself for strength. If you glance at what is around you, while fixing your gaze upon God, what is around you will not overwhelm you, as God is with you. God becomes your strength. If you see only fear, disappointment and discouragement than all you have is fear, disappointment and discouragement. If your gaze is fixed upon God in the midst of fear, disappointment and discouragement you will see and find God and all that He is.
Our gaze must be upon our Lord. We should not look to the right or the left, but follow trusting and obeying in all things and in all ways. By trusting and obeying, we will come by faith into the land of promises fulfilled. Our true strength is in God alone because His provision will always be more than we need or imagine. His grace is always sufficient because His love is so extravagantly wrapped around all of our days.
Oh Lord, steady our gaze in the bleakness, steady our gaze in danger and fear, steady our gaze in disappointment, steady our gaze in heartache and doubt, steady our gaze in everything we face including abundance, that we may see only Your love, care, guidance, will and provision.
“Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen.” (Ephesians 3:20-12, NIV)
