Keep Your Eyes On God

Where are your eyes? Often time the things we see go on to affect our subsequent action. It’s important that we as believers have a grip on what and where our focus is.

To be focused is to keep our attention on Him.

Matthew 14:24-31 KJV

“But the ship was now in the midst of the sea, tossed with waves: for the wind was contrary.  And in the fourth watch of the night Jesus went unto them, walking on the sea.  And when the disciples saw him walking on the sea, they were troubled, saying, It is a spirit; and they cried out for fear.  But straightway Jesus spake unto them, saying, Be of good cheer; it is I; be not afraid.  And Peter answered him and said, Lord, if it be thou, bid me come unto thee on the water.  And he said, Come. And when Peter was come down out of the ship, he walked on the water, to go to Jesus.  But when he saw the wind boisterous, he was afraid; and beginning to sink, he cried, saying, Lord, save me.  And immediately Jesus stretched forth his hand, and caught him, and said unto him, O thou of little faith, wherefore didst thou doubt?”

A good place to put your eyes and focus: Psalms 121:1-2 KJV I will lift up mine eyes unto the hills, from whence cometh my help.  My help cometh from the Lord , which made heaven and earth.

The benefits of keeping your focus on God, He’s the only one with insights into your future. Jeremiah 29:11 KJV For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, saith the Lord , thoughts of peace, and not of evil, to give you an expected end.

When you face trials it can be very easy, in fact too easy as its a natural human reaction to be fixated on what seems like the greater power – the problem. But God’s words provide us with the assurance we need to make a choice to focus on God who has all power.Job 23:10 KJV But he knoweth the way that I take: when he hath tried me, I shall come forth as gold.

If you wanted to know the ins and outs of a story, who better to talk to than the actual author. God has predestined every aspect of our lives to the finest details. He has planned orchestrated our life in His wisdom and love. So who better to focus on and follow than God? He knows how the story ends.. #spoileralert WE WIN! Hebrews 12:2 KJV “Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith”

Life is full of distractions, often the aim of which is to plant our aims and hopes in a feeble, lesser power that will ultimately fail us. The enemy knows the power we would possess and the benefits we would obtain from just having MUSTARD SEED size faith in God.

Try Looking Away From:

– Yourself; beauty,  humanity,  skills, talent, own abilities. Prov 14:12 reminds us that; “There is a way which seemeth right unto a man, but the end thereof are the ways of death” Each of us would have our preferred method of doing things, a way that makes sense to us. But we all need to take account of the fact that we are on a journey, one that has a very particular route that we are require to keep to if we want to make it to the promise land. It’s not really about us, but what it is that God would have us do at all times. Not my will!

-Man : expectations of another humans: Jeremiah 17:5-8 , “Thus saith the Lord ; Cursed be the man that trusteth in man, and maketh flesh his arm, and whose heart departeth from the Lord .  For he shall be like the heath in the desert, and shall not see when good cometh; but shall inhabit the parched places in the wilderness, in a salt land and not inhabited.  Blessed is the man that trusteth in the Lord , and whose hope the Lord is.  For he shall be as a tree planted by the waters, and that spreadeth out her roots by the river, and shall not see when heat cometh, but her leaf shall be green; and shall not be careful in the year of drought, neither shall cease from yielding fruit” The scripture goes on to talk about how wicked the heart can be and that it cant be trusted. Often times we assume others intentions towards us are good and would want the best for us, but this is not always the case. Again, who better to trust than your creator.
-Alternatives: stop looking for everyone else and everything else. People in the 3rd world and deprived nations only have God,  which is why they seemingly receive so much from God. They literally have no other helper. They have no plan B, they have no back-up plan, they have no other person to call other than Jesus. This is trusting the Lord with ALL your heart. Not looking at or even considering others, simply  looking unto Jesus (Hebrews 12.2)

-The situation/ environment : the winds the waves, the fire. Refuse and Reject anxiety,  worried, fears. He that keepeth Israel neither slubers or sleeps. (Ps 120) He is very much aware of where you are and what you face.

-Looking back… God is Ahead!
Brethren, I count not myself to have apprehended: but this one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind, and reaching forth unto those things which are before. Philippians 3:13.

My friend.. the wind will blow.. the storms will rage..life at times will flip you upside down. But its ok. This is life.. it’s not an all inclusive life time holiday in the Bahamas. The aim is to be presented back to God, having been born in sin, as pure gold. This is going to take some rough and tumble, some heat, some pain, some pressing, but keep your eyes on the end goal, be assured that God has got you. Be confident that He is ever present and He knows what He is doing!

The Rest Of The Armour

In my last blog post I spoke about the Belt of Absolute Truth and how important truth is to the believer..But we can’t forget the rest of the armour…

Breastplate of Righteousness

Righteousness talks of the quality of being morally right, or justified. It talks of goodness, virtue, uprightness. A breastplate has the function of covering the chest. A large majority of the vital organs are in this area of the body. Essentially the heart. We understand that the issues of life flow from the heart (Prov :4:23) We also hear that the heart of man is desperately wicked according to Jeremiah 17:9. We also understand that this armour is not our armour, so this covering of righteousness is not one that we have established, not one that we have created. If we were left to create this covering with our own righteousness it would malfunction at the first opportunity because our own righteousness is of no effect when it comes to warfare. It’s the righteousness of God that protect our hear and acts as a filter to what comes in and what comes out from the heart. The virtue of God covers our heart and allows better governance of our emotions and reactions. We are made righteous through HIS righteousness.

Feet shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace

We understand that shoes are an essential part of any outfit. We may be fully clothed and have all we need on, but we are not ready to leave the house and accomplish anything without our shoes on. We can’t leave the house, we can’t go out and do what we plan to do with no shoes on. Also, it’s important that the shoes we have on are appropriate for where we are going or what we are going to do. Shoes are a protection from the ground that we have to walk on. The stones and harness of the ground would make walking and travelling long distances difficult and act as a distraction to the journey. Especially in warfare, it’s important that the shoes were purposeful and efficient for battle. They could not be too heavy or they would slow them down, and no too light or they would not protect against the hard ground. Our mission is to walk with and in the Gospel of Peace. This is the message we look to bring everywhere our feet tread.

Shield of faith

A shield has the function to protect, defend and cover. It is not attached to any fixed part of the body so it has the ability to protect anything from the head, to the feet. It also has the ability to cover and protect others. Faith we know to be the substance of things hoped for (what it’s made out of and made up of), the evidence of things not seen (the proof of things we don’t have yet) Heb 11:1. So how can faith be a defence? When the fiery darts of the devil come, aflame with doubt and fear, it’s the shield of faith that will render them powerless. Our faith allows to remain confident in the ability of God. It’s our faith that stops the attack to our mind, chest, feet. Faith disables anything that might stand against what God can do. We can cover ourselves and other with faith.

Helmet of Salvation

A helmet has the function of covering the head, and depending on the style, the face which holds the eyes. Salvation talks of deliverance from harm and injury and ultimate ruin. Christ has brought us salvation via His death on the cross. From that act of love we have been rescued, preserved and delivered all at the same time. Salvation talks of deliverance from sin and it’s consequence (death). Romans 7:25 (NIV) says “Thanks be to God who delivers me through Jesus Christ our Lord. So then, I myself in my mind am a slave to God’s law, but my sinful nature a slave to the law of sin. Proverbs 23:7 says “As a man thinketh, so is he”. We understand from these the power of the mind. The power of Salvation and our deliverance and ability to walk in the newness of life starts in the mind. We know that most things we do start as a thought in the mind which is why Romans 12 begs that we be renewed in our mind. Salvation acts as a covering to our mind and ultimately what we do. Because we have been changed, new born and our life has been rearranged, the things we used to do we do them no more, places we used to go we go, we go there no more thanks to Salvation and the change and covering of the mind.

Sword of the Spirit

The sword is a powerful part of the armour. One that is again in no fixed place, but can be directed to the enemy at hand. The Sword of the Spirit which is the word of God. Hebrews 4:12 tell us that the word of God is alive, and quick and sharper than any two edge sword, penetrating, and dividing. Such is the power of the word of God. The word of God is the only part of the armour that is used to attack. The rest of the armour is used to defend but the word of God is set to attack and fight back. The believe must have access to a sword to make it through warfare. The undiluted word of God that is forever settled in the heaven is the only line of attack that we have against the enemy.

Prayer:

A forgotten part of the armour. Prayer. It is here where we suit up. It’s here where we get repairs and replacements and reinforcements to our armour. It’s in prayers that we learn more about the enemy and receive insight about it. It’s here that God allows us to communicate and strategies and plan and attack. Its where we meet the captain of the Lords host (Joshua 5) and rally together with others in the war and boost each other up ready for war. It’s here where we heal from a battle that we may not have won. Its hear where our wounds are bound together and oil and wine is poured in. It’s here where you can be encouraged to go and fight again!