Fixing Our Eyes on Jesus

I love those times in the study of God's Word when He has me looking at several verses and then ties them all together in a lesson tailor made for me. As I untied the ribbon on His most recent gift and pulled the treasure out of it's box I found His revelation to me to be a lesson on fixing my eyes on Jesus and not on the world around me.

"For the devious are an abomination to the LORD; but He is intimate with the
upright."
Proverbs 3:32, NASB

According to Webster's Dictionary, devious means wandering, moving without a fixed course, deviating from a right, accepted, or common course, not straightforward.

I feel certain all of us could attest to having been devious at one time or another. I know there have been times in my life when I've hiked up my cute jeans, ditched the snazzy shoes, and set out on my own course. Like a pinball machine, I would bounce from one thing to the next, never walking in an orderly fashion or staying in one location- be it physically, mentally, or emotionally- for very long . Because I was so busy bouncing from here to there instead purposefully placing one foot in front of the other and because my eyes were wandering to and fro, there was not even a hint of intimacy between the Lord and me.

God chooses to reveal Himself to those who are upright; to those who are walking down the straight and narrow path He has set before them. For the one who has fixed her eyes on Jesus and is purposefully putting one foot in front of the other, she is the one who will experience true intimacy with her God. She is the one who with whom God is going to reveal His secret and the one with whom He will make covenant (Psalm 25:14).

As I read and meditated on these verses my thoughts were drawn back to this past weekend and the Deeper Still conference. Kay Arthur taught from the book of Hebrews and over and over again she encouraged us to fix our eyes upon Jesus. Why? Because when our eyes are fixed on Jesus, we are able to experience true intimacy with Him. Because when our eyes are fixed on Jesus, our relationship with Him will go beyond surface and be rooted deeper and deeper in the truth and knowledge of who He is and who He desires us to be.

I remember teaching my students several years ago that in order for us to have a personal, intimate, growing relationship with the Lord we would have to put on our spiritual blinders. Let me explain to you what I mean. When horses and plows were used for gardening, farmers would place on the head of the animal a harness that had blinders positioned around the eye area. These blinders were meant to keep the animal's eyes focused on the row directly in front of him. If there were no blinders the chances of the horse becoming distracted and walking in a crooked line were highly probable. The blinders were an absolute must if the farmer were to get any work done.

You and I must put on our spiritual blinders so that we are able to walk the straight and narrow and experience intimacy with our Savior. Proverbs 4:25-27 tells us we are to let our eyes look directly ahead and let our gaze be fixed straight in front of us. We are to watch the path of our feet so that all our ways will be established. We are not to turn to the right nor to the left, but we are to continue to walk straight ahead, turning our foot from evil.

The blinders on the horses harness enabled him to focus on the row he was plowing; our spiritual blinders enable us to focus our attention on Jesus Christ Himself.

"Therefore, since we have so great a cloud of witnesses surrounding us, let us
also lay aside every encumbrance and the sin which so easily entangles us and
let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, FIXING OUR EYES ON
JESUS, the author and perfecter of faith, who for the joy set before Him endured
the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne
of God." Hebrews 12:1-2, NASB (emphasis added)

It is so easy for us to focus our attention on the happenings of the world around us. It is easy to get caught up in the mundane of day to day living. Often times it is much easier to rely on those tangible persons in our lives instead of the God we cannot see. Circumstances, sometimes beyond our control, sometimes self-inflicted, can very easily draw our attention away from the Lord if we do not have our spiritual blinders on.

The Lord so beautifully tied together these verses in Proverbs 3 & 4 with the truths of Hebrews 12. He taught me the importance of walking in such a manner where I am purposefully placing one foot in front of the other all the while fixing my eyes upon the One who is the author (the Originator) and the perfecter (the Finisher) of my faith.