Through God’s Eyes…
“For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways,” declares the Lord. “As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts.” Isaiah 55:8-9 (NIV)
What do you see when you look at your life and the lives of others? Do you see those around you as souls needing a loving, forgiving savior? Do you see yourself as someone in need of forgiveness? Or do you see something different?
It’s easy to let our focus get fuzzy. Social media depicts lives that seem so perfect. We keep our brokenness to ourselves. We see hardships as undeserved punishments or success as something we personally earned.
This can be especially true during times of trials and setbacks. A lost job, a failed marriage, a sudden sickness, a shrinking bank account … these and a thousand other things can make us question God. Doubting God is as old as mankind. Consider a few examples.
In the garden, Adam and Eve doubted God’s seriousness when He commanded them not to eat from the Tree of Good and Evil, trusting their own plans and instincts. (Genesis 3:6)
Abram (later Abraham) and his wife Sarai (later Sarah) doubted God’s plan asking them to wait for an heir, taking matters into their own hands. (Genesis 16:1-4)
Gideon doubted God’s ability to help him win the war against the Midianites so he prayed for God to give him proof. (Judges 6:15)
Yet there is a way to bring our eyes into perfect focus: we must try to see our lives as God sees them.
I start most of my prayers these days with “Lord your plan works, and mine doesn’t, and let me always remember that.” I try to thank Him every day for saving me from so many mistakes I could have made.
I thank Him for the forgiveness he freely offers to anyone willing to accept His grace in their hearts.
I ask Him to show me how to life a life reflecting the life Christ lived, and to give me understanding of His will, not mine.
You see, while we do not know our future, God knows it from beginning to end (Psalm 139:1-6). That’s why it’s so important to discern, to actively listen and hear Him speak through the Holy Spirit. To stay in His word every day.
Sometimes, the picture we have of our lives is based on our limited experiences or resources. Or perhaps we feel our education, or even our culture has put us where we are. What we must continuously remind ourselves is that God is not limited by any of these!
- Where we see lack He sees opportunity
- Where we see weakness God sees strength
- Where we see failure God sees potential
- Where we see what has been, God sees what will be!
The greatest example in Scripture of trusting God when our natural instincts and desires are pulling at us to trust our own will is the story of Jesus in the Garden of Gethsemane on the night of his arrest (Matthew 26:36-46). Jesus takes his disciples to Gethsemane and asks them to wait while he prays to God twice to take away the persecution he knows is coming. Ultimately, Jesus surrenders to God, saying “My Father, if it is not possible for this cup to be taken away unless I drink it, may your will be done.”
When our vision is more aligned with God’s vision, we begin seeing our dreams and our prayers fulfilled. Then we can take action on our plans, our vision always remaining open to seeing God’s plan and His perspective to guide our way!
God asks us to shift our gaze from our limited perspective to His greater view of our lives. That means asking hard questions of ourselves, not just in church on Sunday but every day – does our life reflect a true Christian life? Are we serving God and His plan every day of our lives? Are we constantly striving to walk away from sin, or do we justify our shortcomings?
Everything begins and ends through God’s eyes. We just need to refocus!
May God continuously lead your path