Don’t you love it when something clicks for you? The light goes on and you really “get it.” 

Last Sunday, my pastor was making a point with the illustration of how we, who wear glasses, tend to accumulate lots of smudges and dust on the lens. We think we see clearly, but when we hold the glasses up to the light, we wonder how we ever saw anything through all the film that collects.

Like our lives, we hum along mindlessly in our busy routines assuming we see well, only to stop and take a closer look. We hold our lives up to the light and see the smudges we were somehow able to ignore.

I like one of the quotes on my desk.

Are you so busy that you only get a glimpse of God instead of gazing at God?

Gazing takes more time, more effort, more thought. Gazing enables us to get a fresh perspective, an answer to a question we’ve struggled with, a ministry we’ve ignored: the light comes on. Perhaps that might lead to another quote at my desk;

If we haven’t ventured into the unknown, we stay safe, but stagnant.

Hmm… comfort zone kind of stuff. Here’s one more saying from my “desk collection.”

With God, every aspect of life is totally sacred the moment He touches it.

Don’t you love that? Just think what “gazing” can do for you; it might lead you to an opportunity for something sacred.

Last week, I finally got back to the calling God has given me—write book three. Life’s happenings have delayed this work for a few months. I sat at my desk, ready to dig in again, but prayed before I started. “Lord, please lead the way. Help me re-engage in this task.” Since it had been a while, I sensed that I should reread what I had written so far even though I anxiously awaited writing more of the story.

I completed reading the 20,000 words or so. Now, ready to do my favorite thing. Write! But He said, no, I needed to do more research for the next phase. Ugh, that’s the laborious part. Okay, I knew it needed to be done, so off I went, learning about the balsa trade in Jericho of all things. Actually, it was quite interesting.

What He says to me is not likely what He wants to say to you. Each of us is unique, but we can all gaze for a while, venture out of our safety zone, and allow Him to make something sacred in our lives.

A final quote—this time from Scripture;

When you turn to the right or to the left, your ears will hear a voice behind you saying, “This is the way, walk in it.” Isaiah 31:10

May we gaze long enough this week to hear His voice and allow Him to touch our lives.

~ Joyce ~