Fixed Eyes

Year 6 - Day 250: Today, I am grateful we can choose to fix our eyes. 

So we don’t look at the troubles we can see now; rather, we fix our gaze on things that cannot be seen. For the things we see now will soon be gone, but the things we cannot see will last forever. -2 Corinthians 4:18 NLT

This is the passage from 2 Corinthians 4 that I am pretty sure inspired one of my favorite songs in recent years. "Fix  My Eyes" by For King and Country. These guys nail it with this song. It is one that will get your arms pumping and hands raised if you let the music take you away. 

Look at these powerful lyrics then take a listen.  I savor the energy and confidence! It makes me want to take on the world, turn the other cheek and celebrate that "this, too, shall pass". 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yd2we03Sy4I

Our troubles may be hard, but they are only temporary. There is victory in faithfulness. We can't always change the world, but we can do our best to make a difference. We can't change someone else, but we can change how we view them. Do we have eyes of anger and frustration or with eyes of compassion.

Today's hardest moments are not God persecuting us. They are our training field. This mission to go... teach... live... and love is not an eyes one. It matters where we fix our eyes. To embrace these lyrics can be life changing. 

"And love like I'm not scared
Give when it's not fair
Live life for another
Take time for a brother
Fight for the weak ones
Speak out for freedom
Find faith in the battle
Stand tall but above it all
Fix my eyes on you, on you"
Songwriters: Joel Smallbone / Joel David Smallbone / Luke Smallbone / Seth Mosley

How does God see the grace he bestows on each of us had any effect? By the love we pour out on others. The time to love, the fight for the weak and unprotected, taking an unpopular stand. 

But by the grace of God I am what I am, and his grace toward me was not in vain. On the contrary, I worked harder than any of them, though it was not I, but the grace of God that is with me. -1 Corinthians 15:10 (ESV)

Paul penned that verse. The same man who had murdered Christians in his previous life as Saul. His letters are full of encouragement. And with fixed eyes we go...

So we tell others about Christ, warning everyone and teaching everyone with all the wisdom God has given us. We want to present them to God, perfect in their relationship to Christ. -Colossians 1:28 (NLT)

With the our eyes on the horizon? No. With our eyes on the Master.  We can trust his hand to work out the things seen... because of things unseen. We focus on the chapter and page, but he is writing our story. Spoiler alert: the end is glorious... beyond what we can imagine.

Today, I am grateful we can choose to fix our eyes.