Monday, August 28, 2017

Cast Your Eyes Up to Heaven

We must learn to live on the heavenly side and look at things from above. To contemplate all things as God sees them, as Christ beholds them, overcomes sin, defies Satan, dissolves perplexities, lifts us above trials, separates us from the world and conquers fear of death.  A.B. Simpson

On the way to work today I was listening to a gospel song by Lyle Lovett.  When I first got in the car I was thinking about what I needed to do when I got to work and then there is my whole other to do list of things that need to get done away from work. Needless to say my thoughts weren’t on heaven.   

When the song came on I started listening to the lyrics and it struck me how true they are, so I hit repeat and listened to it again.  There are a lot of hallelujahs but my favorite verse talks about when he was a baby sitting on his mama’s knee.  She told him, “Son, if you cast your eyes up to heaven, Heaven’s what you’ll see.” 

I think that is an amazing lyric.  If we keep our gaze on the Father we’ll see Him.  Our gaze must be focused on Him or we lose sight of Him. There is a lot of sorrow, pain, hate and injustice in this world we live in. 

On Saturday I went to visit my sister and parents.  When my husband got home our back gate was open as well as our back door.  When he walked into the house he realized someone had broken into our house.  When I got home the police were inside dusting for fingerprints.  The thieves kicked in our back door and trashed our house.  They took the drawers out of my nightstand and chest of drawers and dumped all of my clothes on the floor.  They went through each room and pulled things out of the closets and dumped them on the floor. They took our TV, my new laptop, cash, my husband’s high school and college class rings. I had a bag that I had packed for when I go to the hospital for surgery and they dumped some of it on the floor and used it to take the coins my husband had in his office.  I was left with one slipper and no robe.  Our six month old puppy was in his kennel by the back doors when they broke in so he was traumatized.  He wouldn’t eat yesterday or today. I mean you can’t make this stuff up.

My husband and I were sitting on our couch on Sunday looking at the blank space where our TV used to be and I started laughing.  I mean it is a whole lot better than crying.  As my husband put it, “The previous years have been really good to us, so now we’re making up for it in 3 months.”  On the same day I was diagnosed with cancer a hail storm hit our house and vehicles, the next month our hot water heater went out, and now we were burglarized. As we sat there laughing we talked about how much God has blessed us. You don’t have to look far to see someone in a worse situation than yourself.   
  
Some of the ladies at work gave me a t-shirt that says “Not today Satan”.  Have you figured out that the closer you get to God the more Satan attacks you.  He tries to break us just like he tried to break Jesus.  He wants us to give up on God.  It would be so much easier to just give in to Satan and then he would leave us alone.  What I do know is that I believe in an amazing God and I will never give up on Him.  If I keep my eyes on Heaven; Heaven is what I’ll see. 

I love the last verse and stanza. 

Though I walk through
Death's dark valley
On that road of misery
I just keep my eyes on Heaven
Heaven is where I'll be.

Written & performed by Lyle Lovett

Prayer for the Day: Heavenly Father, thank you for giving me this song that lifted me up on my way to work.  I was so immersed in my thoughts about what I thought I needed to do, that I lost sight of You.  Help me to keep my eyes on You so that Heaven is what I see.  “Sing Praise the Lord, Sing Hallelujah, I’m going to the place my Father has made.”    
     

Scripture: Jesus spoke these words, lifted up His eyes to heaven, and said: “Father, the hour has come. Glorify Your Son, that Your Son also may glorify You, as You have given Him authority over all flesh, that He should give eternal life to as many as You have given Him. And this is eternal life, that they may know You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom You have sent. I have glorified You on the earth. I have finished the work which You have given Me to do. And now, O Father, glorify Me together with Yourself, with the glory which I had with You before the world was.  John 17:1-5

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