Keep Your Eyes On Him
A.W. Tozier, a well known theologian, once made the statement, “God
has never used anyone greatly, whom He has not first hurt deeply”. We need
to look past the pain and see the plan. If we can do that, then our whole
perspective on trials will change and we will experience a peace and
security that we have never known.
When we face adversity in life, we have come to a point on the
diagram called the “Valley of Decision”, where we must make a choice. The
choices as mentioned earlier are: 1. Obedience (submitting to or humbling
ourselves before God), and, 2. Rebellion (unbelief or opposition to God)
The choice we make will not likely get us out of the situation, but will
definitely determine the emotions, attitudes and actions that follow,
which
will affect every area of our lives including the development of our
character. But, even greater than that, since we d~termined that trials
are a test of our faith, we are either strengthened or weakened in our
spiritual life by the choice we make. To obey is to move toward spiritual
maturity and greater faith, because, when we choose to obey, we are
looking
for God to work, and when He does, our faith grows. This doesn’t
necessarily mean that God gave us the answer to prayer that we wanted,
but,
if it was committed to the Lord, we can be certain that it was the answer
that He wanted for us. Often, later on, we can look back and see how God
worked.
To rebel is to regress in our spiritual life, since we are
controlled by the flesh and are not even looking for God to do anything,
but are depending on our own abilities. Therefore, God is out of the
picture. Our eyes are on self. The choice of rebellion does not
necessarily mean that we are not Christians, but usually is an indication
of the strength of our faith and of our relationship with God. Even mature
Christians, in moments of spiritual weakness, make the wrong choice. When
that happens, there is conviction, confession of sin, and restoration of
that person’s relationship with God. (lJn.1:9) As believers, we have as
our ambition the desire to please God. (2Cor.5:9) We desire a close
relationship with Him and can’t stand a break in the fellowship that we
have with Him. Therefore, conviction and repentance usually come quickly.
The longer we wait, the more miserable we become. If you feel far
from God,
guess who moved!
Sometimes the choice that we make is based on learned behavior that
may even go back to childhood. It could even be something that has
developed into a bad habit, and may seem impossible to overcome. But,
remember, Gods word says “I can do all things through Christ who
strengthens me”. (Phil.4:13). Often, we do not realize that we have fallen
into sin. We are “anesthetized” like a frog put into a pot of room
temperature water. The temperature is gradually increased, and the
unsuspecting frog boils to death. Slowly and gradually we can become
immune to our sin, until eventually it overcomes us and we are destroyed.
We must be self-controlled and alert, because the devil prowls around like
a roaring lion seeking someone to devour. (lPet.5:8). We also need to
wake up,let go of the past as it negatively effects our choices,
and,”press
on toward the goal, for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ
Jesus”. (Phil.3:13,14).
Since we are in a race,it is important that we keep our eyes on the
goal. To momentarily glance away from the goal can spell disaster.Consider
Peter when he was in the boat and saw the Lord walking toward him on the
water. The Lord bade him to come to Him, so Peter got out of the boat and
walked toward Him on the water. He was fine as long as he kept his eyes
on Jesus. But, just for a moment, he took his eyes off Jesus, saw the
peril that he was in, and started to sink. Isn’t that what we do when we
are faced with those hurdles that are there for a purpose? Those hurdles
that seem so insurmountable? We look at the hurdle instead of looking at
the Lord. We look at our weakness instead of God’s strength, and down we
go. Winston Churchill said, “Success is never final, and failure is never
fatal. It is courage that counts”. Rudyard Kipling wrote that “if we can
meet triumph and disaster, and treat those two imposters just the same,
then we are on our way to becoming men”. We do this by getting our eyes
off ourselves and focusing them on the glory of the One who can
provide for
us and sustain us. Be aware of the hurdles, but don’t focus on them.
When we reach the valley of decision and have our eyes fixed on self,
or anything else except the Lord, we are pulled down the slide of
rebellion
or unbelief by the worldly lusts, i.e. the lust of the flesh, the lust of
the eyes, and the boastful pride of life.
{lJn.2:16}. If we dwell in this area too long, the result is a series of
negative emotions beginning with bitterness and resentment and ending with
despair and hopelessness. Our spiritual life then regresses and eventually
the deeds of the flesh will lead us into one or more of the following:
Immorality, sensuality,sorcery {drugs), strife, anger, impurity, idolotry,
enmities, jealousy, disputes, dissensions, factions, envying, drunkenness,
and carousing. {Gal. 5: 19-21}. These lead to more guilt and negative
emotions, despair, hopelessness, and sometimes total destruction. You lose
and Satan wins. Your soul is saved, if you are a Christian, but your
rewards and effectiveness for Christ are lost.
Why do people, even Christians, commit suicide? It is usually
because they reach the point of despair and dwell there until all hope
seems to be gone. When your hope is gone, your courage goes with it. It
was easy to see this in the life of Peter, for example. His faith was
strong as long as he thought that the Lord was in control. But, when he
saw Christ heading for the cross, he lost hope, and his courage went with
it. So, he denied Christ three times. Why? Well, he just didn’t see the
whole picture. But, we have the whole picture. We know how things are
going to end and what our future is. We have no reason to lose hope. We
have the “Blessed Hope”, and His promises are sure. We just need to stand
firm, knowing in Whom we believe.
I heard a radio pastor tell about watching the 1980 Olympic hockey
game between the U.S. team and the Russians. He sat on the edge of his
seat with sweating palms during the whole game. He was nervous and anxious
all at the same time. He videotaped the game so he could invite friends
over to watch it later. During the replay, however, he just sat back and
sipped his lemonade and ate his popcorn while those who were watching it
for the first time sat on the edge of their seats. Why was he so relaxed?
Well, he already knew the outcome, so he didn’t need to be anxious. Isn’t
that how we should react to what is happening today. We already know the
ultimate outcome, so we can “be anxious for nothing”.
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