What Are You Looking At?

Proverbs 3:6.~ In all your ways, acknowledge Him and He will direct your path.
I have to feed myself this verse daily to remind me how I am to walk in my relationship with the Lord. God is reminding us here that we are not walking on our own, but in all our ways we are to walk under His authority. This is a tough lesson for someone like me; head strong, determined to do things on my own without the help of others. If I don’t feed my soul with this lesson during regularly scheduled meal times, I struggle with my default nature to make it on my own, to be in control and control everything around me. But when I meditate on this word, the phrase “acknowledge Him” gives me a great visual to keep me looking in the right direction.We all know what it means to acknowledge someone in a crowd. Sometimes it’s with a simple nod of acknowledgement from across the room, catching their eye ever so briefly letting them know you know they are there. Or sometimes it is with a wave or a shout of ‘hello’.

We can also acknowledge someone from stage, giving them credit or special recognition for accomplishments.

Both are simple gestures recognizing the importance of the relationship of that person and yourself. That’s what God is asking for here; for us to recognize the importance of the relationship between Him and us. “In all our ways acknowledge Him and He will direct our path.”

We can do this in very simple ways throughout our days:
  • Say His name during the day, letting Him know you are aware that He is there.
  • Look in His direction, catching His eye for approval before making a decision.
  • Stop and cry out to Him in the midst of a heated moment before words are shared that are not of His leading.
  • Tell others what He has meant to you, sharing the way for others to see.
  • When you see beauty in creation, stop and say out loud “Thank You God for this creation that we enjoy”.
  • When you experience victory, stop and say out loud “Thank You God for working in my life”.
  • When life is hard, stop and say out loud “Lord, I know You are with me”.
Seems simple enough and upon first consideration, shouldn’t be that hard to do. However, I must confess that it has been easier said than done in my personal walk. Why? Because the enemy spends a lot of time trying to divert our eyes in the wrong direction. You see, for us to acknowledge God, we must see God. The question we must ask ourselves is “what am I looking at?”.

When I am going through my daily life, are my eyes looking for God or am I looking at the circumstances around me? Am I looking at people and wondering what they are thinking more than I am looking at God wondering what He is thinking?

When a decision is to be made, am I looking at what will benefit me most or am I looking at God to see what will benefit His kingdom the most?

When conflict arises, am I looking at ways to prove I am right or am I looking at God to prove He is my ultimate authority?

When I see beauty in creation is my first thought to see God?

When I experience victory, am I looking at what I have done or am I looking at what God has done?

When life is hard, am I looking at myself with pity, worry or frustration, or am I looking at God, acknowledging His unfailing love He showed on the cross and the power He gives through my salvation?

Today is a good day to stop and take a deeper look at where our eyes are focused. Maybe you can relate to one, a few or all of the answers to the question “what am I looking at?”. We can often hide from one another the direction our eyes are looking, feeling secure in ourselves behind a pair of dark glasses. But God sees through any shades you may attempt to wear. He knows where your eyes are at all times. The view is spectacular when we let Him take those dark glasses off so we can see what He wants us to see; about ourselves and about Him.

I want to see God in every minute of every day. I don’t want to miss seeing Him in anything! The enemy is going to work overtime to keep my eyes looking in the wrong direction, but all I have to do is ask God to keep my eyes on Him.

So let’s take time to acknowledge God. If you saw Jesus walking into a crowded room today, what would you say? If you were speaking to an audience and you spotted Him amongst the crowd, what acknowledgement would you offer Him today?

Our recipe today is to ask What Am I Looking At?
The ingredients are from Proverbs 3:6
The directions are to let God know you see Him, acknowledging Him in your daily walk both privately and publicly.

PRAYER:
I see you Lord. I come before You today wanting to see more of You. Let me see more of Your glory. Let me see the detail of how You are working in my life. And Lord, let me see myself through Your eyes. Let me see the parts of me that are looking in the wrong direction so that I may adjust my view. Remove the dark shades I may be wearing in my feeble an attempt to hide what I don’t want You to see. Thank You Lord for loving me so deeply and unconditionally as You remind me that You already know what I am looking at in every area of my life, and that You knew this even as You sent Your Son to the cross for me. Let me see myself as You see me Lord, cleansed by the blood of Christ and walking in His righteousness. Let the eyes of my heart be opened up so that I may draw closer to You in a real and intimate relationship. Lord, I want to see You high and lifted up. Give me eyes to see where I may not be walking in a way that brings You glory and give me a heart ready to change. I come to you in the name of my precious Savior, Jesus Christ. Amen.

4 comments:

  1. Wow this is beautifully written I love it! I am printing this off, what an inspiration.

    ReplyDelete
  2. hey tami! thanks for your comment and advice on potty training. i'm curious to know how you found me. looking forward to checking in with your food for soul.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Alice and Kelsey, I am so glad you were blessed. Thanks for visiting.

    Lindsey...Hi. I found you on the 'crazy carnival' via Hillary (the other mama)!

    ReplyDelete