I Fix My Eyes on the Truth

One of our sons just got out of prison. What a joy to have him home—a sweet reunion. Trust restored, deep love is enjoyed again, a fresh start. We thank the LORD.

But Sunday night we received a call… another son is in jail. Too many unknowns… calls, visits and letters are monitored. Will we ever know the truth? Will we ever know the extent of all he’s lived through already at his young age?

The hopeless-looking aspects of his situation are large and in my face again. How do I look past them and fix my eyes on the Unseen? 2 Corinthians 4:18 (NIV) says “So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.” I know God has given me this word to hang onto during this time in my life. It gives me hope, reminding me that there is much more here than I can now see. There is another realm, another kingdom that is fighting for my son’s life. And the kingdom of light is stronger than the kingdom of darkness.

So today I fix my eyes… over and over again, on the eyes of my Savior, Jesus Christ. I am desperate and He is my Hero. I relax into His warm, moist eyes that speak compassion, gentle kindness and understanding. He knows my heart. Even when I am numb and wonder why I don’t feel, He knows what’s buried down deep that hurts too much for me to let rise. He knows me. He holds my heart in His tender hands and I fix my eyes on the nail holes and remember what it cost Him to now hold my heart. I am safe with Him because He values me that much.

I fix my eyes on the truth that nothing is impossible with God, and that He has already broken the power of sin over my son, and bought him with His blood when He died on the cross for him.

I fix my eyes on the truth that Jesus came to seek and to save the lost and He will not be denied.

I fix my eyes on the truth that Jesus’ loving-kindness is leading my child to repentance.

Today, no matter what is happening in the natural I will fill my eyes with the solid rock of God’s Word and I will pray it over my son, declaring the supremacy of the kingdom of Light over the kingdom of darkness. Whenever the “seen” blocks my view I will pray that Jesus will show me what is behind it in the unseen realm. And I will pray into that.

And I will let myself rest, like a child held tightly in her daddy’s gaze, safe… because The Unseen wins.

 

Childbirth Class for Parents of Prodigals

When I think of “fixing my eyes” on something I remember childbirth classes. It was there that those of us who could no longer see our toes and who had no clue as to what lay before us, gathered excitedly to learn how to have a baby. There we were taught that the key to enduring the excruciating pain of labor and delivery was to relax and breathe while we fixed our eyes on a focal point.

Our instructor taught us to find something in the room that would receive our concentrated attention throughout each contraction. I found the clock on the wall. The strategy was that as soon as the contraction began I would concentrate all my effort on relaxed breathing, and fix my eyes on that clock, my focal point. I knew that if I lost focused connection the pain would be too much for me. I wouldn’t be able to handle it.

Being the strong woman that I am, I soon found out that “not being able to handle it” meant I would resort to screaming uncontrollably. (I had such a shy, reserved personality that I always wondered if I would know how to scream if I was attacked. Yes, I know how.)

Meanwhile, while I obsessively focused my eyes on the clock, I also focused my ears on my husband’s voice telling me over and over again about the beach. “You’re lying on the shore, listening to the lulling of the waves, feeling the sunshine and the warm wind caressing your skin. You’re hearing the seagulls singing overhead and the children building sandcastles nearby.” He soon was putting everyone else in the room to sleep while I clutched onto his words like a lifeline.

Likewise, I have had times of agonizing pain as my children have struggled in their push toward independence. Such incomparably deep love for my child, and yet “Just get this baby out!” Much like contractions, I have experienced wave after wave of fear, guilt, anger, shame, grief, and sorrow.

I haven’t found a class on how to get through these contractions, but I have found a focal point that works better than a clock. 2 Corinthians 4:18 says “So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.”

My focal point is to be the unseen… what in the world does that mean? I believe it means I am to fix my eyes (use all my strength to aggressively think about, as if my life depended on it, because it does) on God—His nature, His promises, His Word, His Presence, His power, His angels all around me, His tender love for me and my children, and His redemption of our lives. If I let my eyes slip down and my ears stop listening to His voice, I can’t handle it. I then am left with resorting to plan B… “B” for becoming an emotional wreck.

As I read 2 Corinthians 4:18 today I was captured by the part that says “what is seen is temporary.” Temporary things are changeable. They are movable and flimsy. What I see right now in the natural can be changed through prayer. So I must learn to look right past it to what is unseen and eternal, and pray in what I see.   “Jesus, please keep speaking to me, like my husband telling me about the beach. Keep me focused on the Unseen.”

The Adventures of Faith and Hope, Siamese Twins

One day Faith and Hope (Siamese twins joined at the hip and each possessing only one leg) began a journey to the top of a mountain. The mountain was called “Loving a Child”. As they began the climb, they had seemingly endless energy, even though they got little sleep. They laughed and delighted in every step, rapidly falling in love with the mountain. Together they bent down to smell the flowers and stopped along the way to lay down in the grass. Gazing up into the clouds they dreamt of what it would be like to reach the top. These early days required strength and patience, but every night as they collapsed into sleep beneath the stars they continued to dream of each new treasure they would find as they progressed up the mountain.

But then it happened. One day Hope tripped and fell on a large, jagged rock that blocked her path. Her one leg was badly wounded. Of course, Faith toppled down with her and they both lost a lot of blood. Desperate, Faith turned to the LORD and cried out for help. “God, speak to me!” God sent forth His Word and she was strengthened. She stood upright and Hope rose with her. Together they continued on their journey, though now it was more painful. Walking with a limp, they realized (what they could not see before they fell) that this wild mountain was steep and rugged and they would need to keep their eyes fixed on Jesus as He led them. Otherwise, as they limped, their path would take them in circles.

As Hope and Faith continued their ascent, Hope’s knee occasionally buckled, pulling them both down again. But they had learned that they could rise quickly if Faith took the lead and cried out to Jesus to lift them back up. Every time this happened, He was faithful to speak the Word they needed to hear that would simultaneously give Faith strength to rise and Hope courage to follow.

One day as they stopped beside a river to drink and rest, they looked and saw how far they’d come. They even saw several dangerous cliffs that they had never even realized were there, slightly off to the side of their path. From where they rested, they could see other Siamese twins coming behind them, also limping. Hope and Faith called out to them, “Keep going! We’re almost there! Jesus is leading you safely! Just keep following Him!”

And then, with the top of the mountain still hidden behind the clouds, Faith and Hope lifted their eyes upward. They searched for the face of Jesus until they were locked in, and continued on…one limping step at a time, but much stronger now than they ever were at the start of their journey.

 

“And now these three remain: faith, hope and love.” 1 Corinthians 13:13(NIV)