A few weeks ago we took a few days to go to the desert. We spent time with my 2 brothers and their wives in Arizona in their RV’s. It was relaxing and a great celebration for my birthday. We wanted to take the opportunity to be close to both my brothers and keep our relationship close. We were also able to see Ed’s cousin and see a few friends who have moved to Arizona form here. We had a few opportunities to minister the love of Jesus to 2 friends near the end of this life on earth. One has already gone on and we continue to pray for the other. It was such a special day as the 6 of us of us went and ministered together and then ministered to one another as we knew we probably wouldn’t see our friends on this side of heaven again. Precious memories.
We had full, fun days but also found some great time for reflecting in my own life and seeking what the Lord is speaking to me. When life is full we can still hear but it’s the quiet times that I can see and hear very deeply. There have been many situations and trials that I’ve managed to carry around that weigh me down, especially the last year. I pray - get prayer – send away and somehow choose to pick up the burden again. I’ve spent hours in His presence seeking His wisdom – soaking in His love – crying tears of sorrow as I don’t always know how to keep some of the situations from going into my heart. I fight the feeling of failure, condemn myself for picking up these burdens again. Each day the Lord speaks softly and gently to my heart and assures me of His love. He shows me visions of my answered prayers and the victories that are mine. These trials are opportunities for me to see the Lord doing amazing things in my life and I can see some of my greatest victories right now. Sometimes it looks impossible. What I see with my eyes isn’t too promising. That’s when I look beyond what is seen and see by faith His promises for and to me. “For we live and walk by faith, not by what we see with our eyes.” 2 Corinthians 5:7
I am choosing to believe despite what I see with my physical eyes and to be aware of His presence in all I do. This faith life I desire to live is about reaching, believing and embracing what my eyes don’t see as possible. There are no boundaries in faith as His ways are unlimited and I can’t think with natural understanding and be in faith. Jesus becomes my source and nothing is impossible with Him. He is always assuring me of His love. He tells me to look in the mirror and see Him in my eyes. That’s a hard one for me but I know I need to do that and how powerful it is in my life. “Open my eyes to see the miracle-wonders hidden in your word”. Psalm 119:18
“Lift up your eyes around you and see.” Isaiah 60:4
“I will lift up my eyes to the hills— From whence comes my help?” Psalm 121:1
“The eyes of your spirit allow revelation-light to enter into your being. If your heart is unclouded, the light floods in!” Matthew 6:22
Right now we have a grandson who is living a life that could easily kill him. He is in with the wrong people and making very bad decisions. Sometimes I look at what’s happening with him on Facebook and my eyes see things I don’t want to. Maybe I shouldn’t look there but it lets me know what is going on in his life. It shows me how to pray. He is very messed up. His profile picture is evil. So I have pictures of him from when he was young to a couple years ago when he was better than he is now. I have these around the house before my eyes. Faith is believing no matter what I physically see but I also need to put a new vision of him in my mind. “Help me turn my eyes away from illusions so that I pursue only that which is true; drench my soul with life as I walk in your paths.” Psalm 119:37 I know the truth is that he is my inheritance, he doesn’t belong to the enemy and he knows about the love of God. That’s where my focus has to be right now. As I pray, I see him whole and preaching the Word of God to the world. I see him sharing his testimony of deliverance to others who are lost. I see the girl he is with and the others he is hanging with coming to Jesus also. I pray for them all. They are someone’s grandchildren just like Caleb is mine. If I don’t keep my eyes on the hope of the Lord I would give up on him.
“And you will open their eyes to their true condition, so that they may turn from darkness to the Light and from the power of Satan to the power of God. By placing their faith in me they will receive the total forgiveness of sins and be made holy, taking hold of the inheritance that I give to my children!’” Acts 26:18
“Lovers of God have been given eyes to see with spiritual discernment and ears to hear from God.” Proverbs 20:12
“How beautiful your eyes of worship and lovely your voice in prayer.” Song of Songs 2:14
“What bliss you experience when your heart is pure! For then your eyes will open to see more and more of God.” Matthew 5:8
“And the crowds marveled with rapture and amazement, astounded over the things they were witnessing with their own eyes! The lame were walking, the mute were speaking, the crippled were made well, and the blind could see. For three days everyone celebrated the miracles as they exalted and praised the God of Israel!” Matthew 15:31
We know the story of Jesus feeding the 5000. I remember when I realized that even Jesus had to get His focus off the circumstance and onto the Father. “Then Jesus took the five loaves and two fish, gazed into heaven, and gave thanks to God. He broke the bread and the two fish and distributed them to his disciples to serve the people—and the food was multiplied in front of their eyes!” Mark 6:41 He took the food and looked to His Father in heaven. He didn’t look at the 5000 and get into doubt. He didn’t see the fish and bread multiply in front right then but He told the disciples to feed the people. It happened as they went that there was plenty. What an example He gave us. I can’t look at my problems with my natural eyes. I must see what He is showing me and keep my eyes focused on the Father and His love. He gave me a book of promises and that has to be what I see with my eyes.
“You have good eyes, yet you still don’t see, and you have good ears, yet you still don’t hear, neither do you remember.” Mark 8:18
“The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, and he has anointed me to be hope for the poor, freedom for the brokenhearted, and new eyes for the blind, and to preach to prisoners, ‘You are set free!’ I have come to share the message of Jubilee, for the time of God’s great acceptance has begun.” Luke 4:18-19
I must keep His promises before my eyes. I sing His promises to me, I speak His promises. I read over and over many of the words He has given me lately and I declare these over me. I am making a vision board with His promises so that during the day when my mind starts to see things that are not His promises I can bring my focus back. If we read anything today, watch any TV, look at any social media stuff our eyes will see a whole lot of lies. It is so easy to start believing those lies and even if you don’t believe the media you can start fighting inside yourself or with others about what you see. I may see that stuff but I can’t leave it in my mind or I will get negative. I have done that a few times this past year and it is the way of death. When I choose to put stuff in my mind that makes me negative I am not choosing His life. Our minds are never on neutral but also seeing Life or death. The Word says to choose Life or death. It is something I must on purpose – intentionally. I am realizing that I need to make intentional choices and not just let things happen. This isn’t faith. This isn’t keeping my focus on Him.
“I pray that the light of God will illuminate the eyes of your imagination, flooding you with light, until you experience the full revelation of the hope of his calling—that is, the wealth of God’s glorious inheritances that he finds in us, his holy ones!” Ephesians 1:18
This is a process I am in right now – me and my Father. I let my mind get so overwhelmed last year that I am now taking back what I let the enemy steal and choosing Life instead of stress. I didn’t even know I was choosing the way of stress until I was exhausted and run down. Now I am headed back and taking my thoughts captive. “Casting down arguments and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God, bringing every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ,”2 Corinthians 10:5
I never stopped being with the Lord, listening to Him or serving Him but I let my thoughts and probably fears take me to a place that I didn’t want to be. I became exhausted, condemning and just not a good place. I pray you can search your heart and see if there are areas you need to choose to intentionally change some thoughts. What a joy it is to be in His presence with my thoughts!!
We had full, fun days but also found some great time for reflecting in my own life and seeking what the Lord is speaking to me. When life is full we can still hear but it’s the quiet times that I can see and hear very deeply. There have been many situations and trials that I’ve managed to carry around that weigh me down, especially the last year. I pray - get prayer – send away and somehow choose to pick up the burden again. I’ve spent hours in His presence seeking His wisdom – soaking in His love – crying tears of sorrow as I don’t always know how to keep some of the situations from going into my heart. I fight the feeling of failure, condemn myself for picking up these burdens again. Each day the Lord speaks softly and gently to my heart and assures me of His love. He shows me visions of my answered prayers and the victories that are mine. These trials are opportunities for me to see the Lord doing amazing things in my life and I can see some of my greatest victories right now. Sometimes it looks impossible. What I see with my eyes isn’t too promising. That’s when I look beyond what is seen and see by faith His promises for and to me. “For we live and walk by faith, not by what we see with our eyes.” 2 Corinthians 5:7
I am choosing to believe despite what I see with my physical eyes and to be aware of His presence in all I do. This faith life I desire to live is about reaching, believing and embracing what my eyes don’t see as possible. There are no boundaries in faith as His ways are unlimited and I can’t think with natural understanding and be in faith. Jesus becomes my source and nothing is impossible with Him. He is always assuring me of His love. He tells me to look in the mirror and see Him in my eyes. That’s a hard one for me but I know I need to do that and how powerful it is in my life. “Open my eyes to see the miracle-wonders hidden in your word”. Psalm 119:18
“Lift up your eyes around you and see.” Isaiah 60:4
“I will lift up my eyes to the hills— From whence comes my help?” Psalm 121:1
“The eyes of your spirit allow revelation-light to enter into your being. If your heart is unclouded, the light floods in!” Matthew 6:22
Right now we have a grandson who is living a life that could easily kill him. He is in with the wrong people and making very bad decisions. Sometimes I look at what’s happening with him on Facebook and my eyes see things I don’t want to. Maybe I shouldn’t look there but it lets me know what is going on in his life. It shows me how to pray. He is very messed up. His profile picture is evil. So I have pictures of him from when he was young to a couple years ago when he was better than he is now. I have these around the house before my eyes. Faith is believing no matter what I physically see but I also need to put a new vision of him in my mind. “Help me turn my eyes away from illusions so that I pursue only that which is true; drench my soul with life as I walk in your paths.” Psalm 119:37 I know the truth is that he is my inheritance, he doesn’t belong to the enemy and he knows about the love of God. That’s where my focus has to be right now. As I pray, I see him whole and preaching the Word of God to the world. I see him sharing his testimony of deliverance to others who are lost. I see the girl he is with and the others he is hanging with coming to Jesus also. I pray for them all. They are someone’s grandchildren just like Caleb is mine. If I don’t keep my eyes on the hope of the Lord I would give up on him.
“And you will open their eyes to their true condition, so that they may turn from darkness to the Light and from the power of Satan to the power of God. By placing their faith in me they will receive the total forgiveness of sins and be made holy, taking hold of the inheritance that I give to my children!’” Acts 26:18
“Lovers of God have been given eyes to see with spiritual discernment and ears to hear from God.” Proverbs 20:12
“How beautiful your eyes of worship and lovely your voice in prayer.” Song of Songs 2:14
“What bliss you experience when your heart is pure! For then your eyes will open to see more and more of God.” Matthew 5:8
“And the crowds marveled with rapture and amazement, astounded over the things they were witnessing with their own eyes! The lame were walking, the mute were speaking, the crippled were made well, and the blind could see. For three days everyone celebrated the miracles as they exalted and praised the God of Israel!” Matthew 15:31
We know the story of Jesus feeding the 5000. I remember when I realized that even Jesus had to get His focus off the circumstance and onto the Father. “Then Jesus took the five loaves and two fish, gazed into heaven, and gave thanks to God. He broke the bread and the two fish and distributed them to his disciples to serve the people—and the food was multiplied in front of their eyes!” Mark 6:41 He took the food and looked to His Father in heaven. He didn’t look at the 5000 and get into doubt. He didn’t see the fish and bread multiply in front right then but He told the disciples to feed the people. It happened as they went that there was plenty. What an example He gave us. I can’t look at my problems with my natural eyes. I must see what He is showing me and keep my eyes focused on the Father and His love. He gave me a book of promises and that has to be what I see with my eyes.
“You have good eyes, yet you still don’t see, and you have good ears, yet you still don’t hear, neither do you remember.” Mark 8:18
“The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, and he has anointed me to be hope for the poor, freedom for the brokenhearted, and new eyes for the blind, and to preach to prisoners, ‘You are set free!’ I have come to share the message of Jubilee, for the time of God’s great acceptance has begun.” Luke 4:18-19
I must keep His promises before my eyes. I sing His promises to me, I speak His promises. I read over and over many of the words He has given me lately and I declare these over me. I am making a vision board with His promises so that during the day when my mind starts to see things that are not His promises I can bring my focus back. If we read anything today, watch any TV, look at any social media stuff our eyes will see a whole lot of lies. It is so easy to start believing those lies and even if you don’t believe the media you can start fighting inside yourself or with others about what you see. I may see that stuff but I can’t leave it in my mind or I will get negative. I have done that a few times this past year and it is the way of death. When I choose to put stuff in my mind that makes me negative I am not choosing His life. Our minds are never on neutral but also seeing Life or death. The Word says to choose Life or death. It is something I must on purpose – intentionally. I am realizing that I need to make intentional choices and not just let things happen. This isn’t faith. This isn’t keeping my focus on Him.
“I pray that the light of God will illuminate the eyes of your imagination, flooding you with light, until you experience the full revelation of the hope of his calling—that is, the wealth of God’s glorious inheritances that he finds in us, his holy ones!” Ephesians 1:18
This is a process I am in right now – me and my Father. I let my mind get so overwhelmed last year that I am now taking back what I let the enemy steal and choosing Life instead of stress. I didn’t even know I was choosing the way of stress until I was exhausted and run down. Now I am headed back and taking my thoughts captive. “Casting down arguments and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God, bringing every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ,”2 Corinthians 10:5
I never stopped being with the Lord, listening to Him or serving Him but I let my thoughts and probably fears take me to a place that I didn’t want to be. I became exhausted, condemning and just not a good place. I pray you can search your heart and see if there are areas you need to choose to intentionally change some thoughts. What a joy it is to be in His presence with my thoughts!!
