Devotionals
I am notorious for getting out of the shower and finding I have fogged up the mirror. Once I am done in the shower I then style and dry my hair. I often notice I can’t see clearly in the mirror because of the mirror being fogged up.
Another similar incident comes to mind. I was sitting in the living room and I was looking out our living room window when I noticed I hadn’t cleaned them lately. The windows had a film on them. Oh, I could see out, but not as clearly as I could have if had I taken the time to clean them.
I also, remember being in Indiana. When I lived there I didn’t have a garage for my car so it would sit out at night. In the winter after a frost or snow I couldn’t see out my windshield. I had to clean it off before I could see to go anywhere. I had a friend who needed to get to work and she was in a hurry. Her car had been out like mine. She had cleaned some of the windshield, but because she was late and in a hurry she didn’t let it all get cleared off. A few minutes after leaving her house she was involved in a minor accident. Why? She had missed seeing a car and hit someone because she had not waited on the windshield to clear.
I am sure you can think of times when things weren’t as clear to you. I seem to forget to clean the TV screen until someone says something or my computer screen seems to like collecting dust. I can’t clearly see until I take the time to clear off the screen.
This is the start of a new year. How many of us are looking through fog? How many of us have not taken the time to clean the things around us so we can see clearly? When things are fogged over, or dusty we can still see, but not as clearly. For me there are times I allow things to block my view to seeing clearly. It may be a circumstance I am going through, it may be some hurtful words someone has said to me or an unkind deed, and it could also just be busyness. One of my biggest problems is saying "NO". That word is not often in my vocabulary. It isn’t that I want to please everybody, it is just I want to do so much to help others. I often forget I can’t do everything. When I get so busy I have no time to spend with God. I have noticed when I don’t spend time with God things begin to block my vision. God tells us in Psalm 119:37, “Turn your eyes from worthless things, and give me life through your word.” Volunteering and helping others is not worthless, but when we get so busy doing these things that we can’t find time for the word, then we aren’t doing what God is calling us to do which is allowing His word to soak into our lives. If we ask Him and pray diligently He will lead us into the areas where we need to volunteer or help others. I jump ahead of God, jump right in and then find myself so consumed with helping others I don’t take time to read His word.
When there is dust on the TV or computer screen I can see the picture, but not as clearly. When I am not into the word and allow myself to get off the path, I can’t always see circumstances in my life as clearly. Someone may have good intentions and offer me advice but I often see it as criticism. Why, because I couldn’t see the clear picture. I might be in conversation with someone and I take the conversation and their words out of context and get my feelings hurt. When we are not in the word Satan takes things and twists them, turns them around and helps us believe things aren’t what they seem to be. In Psalm 119:18, it says, “Open my eyes to see the wonderful truths in your instructions.” It is only when we study God’s truths we see the clearer picture.
Another problem I have had in the past is instead of looking out and seeing the brighter picture, I look at the past. The past has not always been easy for my family. We have been through some rough times. I want to wallow in self pity and feel sorry for myself. I am afraid of looking out at the clear picture because I don’t know what I will see or where God will lead me. In Proverbs 4:25 says, “Look straight ahead, and fix your eyes on what lies before you.” The solution for me is to tell Satan it is time to scat and begin to focus on God and what lies ahead of me. God has never abandoned me, He has never let me fail, and He has seen me through everything I have been through. If He brought me to it, He got me through it.
So this year, I will clean those windows, dust off the TV, and try to keep the bathroom mirror from fogging over. While doing that I will practice Psalm 123:1, “I lift my eyes to you, O God enthroned in heaven. “ I will also begin the practice of running a marathon race for Christ, by obeying Hebrews 12:2, “We do this by keeping our eyes on Jesus, the Champion who initiates and perfects our faith.”
Will you follow me this year and make 2010 a year where we see clearer the whole picture? Where our eyes are fixed on God and not circumstances? May God bless you as you begin the New Year with clearer vision for His will for your life.
“Your eye is a lamp that provides light for your body. When your eye is good, your whole body is filled with light. But when your eye is bad, your whole body is filled with darkness. And if the light you think you have is actually darkness, how deep that darkness is!”
Matthew 6:22
Prayer:
Dear Lord, thank You for eyes to see You. Thank You for allowing me the ability to read Your Word with my eyes and to see the beauty around me that You have created. It is so easy to allow my eyes to focus on worldly things, on the negative things and those things that are bad for me. Remind me to lift my eyes to You, to focus on the path ahead, and not look back. May I use Your strength and power to run this marathon race of life as I strive to do the best for You. Amen.
In Christian love,
Becky
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