Category: Bible study

Lift Up Your Eyes and See

Carolyn

I’ve been reading through Genesis and loved reading again story after story of God’s faithfulness to His people.

It’s always surprising how a new reading of an old book can reveal new things. While I am no scholar, I do enjoy tracking certain themes like “covenant” or “be fruitful and multiply” or “descendants.”

One phrase I’ve been reflecting on is “lifted his eyes and looked” or “I lifted my eyes and saw.”

  • In Genesis 18:2 “Abraham lifted his eyes and looked” when three men stood at his tent door, one maybe being the LORD, to tell him he that Sarah would have a child in their old age.
  • When Abraham had Isaac on the altar, after God stopped him from sacrificing Isaac, it says in Genesis 22:13-14, “Then Abraham lifted his eyes and looked, and there behind him was a ram caught in a thicket by its horns.” God provided a substitute sacrifice (and a picture of things to come through Jesus’ sacrifice for us)!
  • In Genesis 24:63-64, Isaac went out to meditate in the field and “lifted his eyes and looked“; Rebekah also “lifted her eyes” as God had provided a wife for Isaac.
  • In Genesis 31:10, Jacob said, “I lifted my eyes and saw in a dream. . .” and in the dream, the Angel of God said to Jacob, “Lift your eyes now and see. . .” as God provided and increased Jacob’s herd and blessed him with continued wealth.

It has made me wonder what I would see if I would just lift up my eyes and look, if I would remove my eyes from the circumstances around me and look up to God and allow Him to provide for the need at hand.

I’ve been sensing His leading so clearly lately: “be quiet, be silent, be still, look up at Me, I will act for you, I will provide, wait for Me, trust Me.” It’s hard for me to sometimes do these things, but I look forward to seeing what God will do as I look to Him for His power and strength. In the midst of it, He also convicts and draws my heart. I am thankful.

Lifesong

Carolyn

I wondered tonight what I should write on, reflect upon. I thought that as I did my Bible study, the Lord would reveal it. I first read through some old journals as I was looking for something else, but I was struck as I read those journals about how much the Lord had used Isaiah 40:28-31 in my life. These verses tell me to trust in Him, to wait upon Him, to hope in Him. He gives strength to the weary, power to those that trust in Him!

I then proceeded to do my very last lesson in Breaking Free, a 10-week Bible study by Beth Moore that some friends and I started months ago (we stretched it out)! What (among other things) did she talk about in this last lesson? Isaiah 40:28-31!

Beth asks the reader to offer feedback concerning the relationship between weariness and self-effort or renewed strength and the presence of God. Doesn’t it seem that it is often the weariness in self effort that ultimately brings us to the end of ourselves and to God? A few years ago, God very vividly showed me that I lacked strength, but that His strength was perfected in my weakness. (II Corinthians 12:9-11). I often think of this concept of His strength in my weakness as my “lifesong.”

As literally everything I do and am is under Him and His authority, I am dependent on Him and accountable to Him for everything, from the breath I breathe, to the thoughts I think, to the actions I take. His Word provides me with everything I need for life and godliness. His Spirit guides me into truth. I am filled with hope because He has given me all I need and truly gives me the strength to be and do what I cannot in my own strength.

These truths have changed my life, and I want others to know these truths, too, and to not miss the exciting walk of faith God has for us as we trust in Him and allow Him to be our strength. I hope to share a story of one way He has shown me this in my next blog entry this week.

Isaiah 40:28-31:
“Have you not known? Have you not heard?
The LORD is the everlasting God,
the Creator of the ends of the earth.
He does not faint or grow weary;
his understanding is unsearchable.
He gives power to the faint,
and to him who has no might he increases strength.
Even youths shall faint and be weary,
and young men shall fall exhausted;
but they who wait for the LORD shall renew their strength;
they shall mount up with wings like eagles;
they shall run and not be weary;
they shall walk and not faint.”

Should Life Be Fair?

Carolyn

Though I am neither a philosopher nor a theologian, my thoughts have been directed lately to thoughts of “fairness.” It seems from birth, we are inclined to feel that all things should be “fair.” Isn’t it the familiar cry of a child: “That’s not fair!” The cookie has to be perfectly broken in two, for certainly no one can have more than the other.

We have an innate sense about what we deserve, how things should be, how we should be treated, what is right and wrong, what is fair and unfair. But is our expectation of fairness realistic? More importantly, is it a biblical expectation?

I’ve been faced with that this year — situations that at first glance don’t seem “fair” in the lives of all 4 in my family. But what if that were our expectation? Unfair things will happen all throughout our lives, over and over again. What if we accepted these kinds of circumstances as the norm and expected them, entrusting ourselves to God who knows best?

And what if instead of fighting to make these unfair wrongs right, we fought to display God’s glory and bring His ways into the situation. What if we truly returned evil with a blessing, prayed for those who hurt us, forgave, demonstrated faithfulness and commitment to other people, poured out the love of God to those who hurt us?

What if we gave God’s Word and ways a chance? What if our responses became so adapted to His ways that we didn’t even feel the unfairness anymore, just the beauty of responding in a way that honors God.

Look at Hagar. She was treated harshly by Sarah (Genesis 16), and yet God showed compassion on Hagar and blessed her, while still telling her to return and submit to Sarah.

Look at Joseph. He was sold by his brothers into slavery, then later imprisoned for something he did not do (when Potiphar’s wife lied about him.) But God was with Joseph, and God used the evil to bring good (food for his people during the famine).

Do these things sound fair? Yet God was sovereign over them, ordaining them for His good purposes, and He was with Hagar and Joseph in the midst of the wrong. He blessed them and used these things. What if they had resisted or fought for their rights or demanded better treatment, if that were even possible?

What if Jesus had refused to be mistreated? What if He had demanded His rights? He of all people could have. But in His great love for us, He suffered. He gave us a different picture for how to handle mistreatment. The love He gave us, He is asking us to give it to others.

We live in a broken world of sin, and we know this current world and life can’t offer us what we are looking for. We long for the perfection and fairness that is not ours on this earth, and we are longing for the place where all will indeed be right and fair and perfect. Christ offers us that for which we long. He is the one Who came to redeem us and change us, and He has a place for those who know Him in heaven one day. He alone satisfies.

Even as I write this, I know it is not complete theologically. I know there are circumstances where we need to act, need to confront, and need to stand up for something. But I wonder how many situations we perceive to be that way that could just as easily be overlooked as we allow God to take our hurts and help us.

So I write as I wrestle. I write without full knowledge, but I write with thankfulness for what God is teaching me and revealing to me about Himself as I struggle through these things.

Glory!

Carolyn

As I ran out to the store late the other night, I was driving home and saw the most beautiful moon! It wasn’t quite full, but it was out on the horizon and enormous looking, almost yellow with clouds touching it a little. It was overwhelmingly beautiful!

I’m doing a Bible study now called “Breaking Free” by Beth Moore. The study that morning had been about how our lives are to “glorify God.” We learned more about what glory means, and one thing I learned is that “God’s glory is the way He makes Himself recognizable.” I had had that sort of prayer on my heart that morning that says, “Show me your glory, Lord.”

As I looked at the moon, the only appropriate word my mouth wanted to utter was “Glory!” Who could look at that moon and not say that it is glorious!

As I pondered it, there was a song playing on the radio that echoed my heart, and these were the words:

Powerful so powerful
Your glory fills the skies
Your mighty works displayed for all to see
The beauty of your majesty
Awakes my heart to see
How marvelous, how wonderful you are.

Beautiful one I love you
Beautiful one I adore
Beautiful one my soul must sing.

You opened my eyes to your wonders anew
You captured my heart with this love
Because nothing on Earth is as beautiful as you

Did you hear that? “Your GLORY fills the skies”! Literally, I’m looking at this gorgeous moon in the skies and declaring GLORY and this song is playing! But the bigger message was “Nothing on earth is as beautiful as You.” The moon was glorious, but it was revealing His glory. I felt I was seeing His glory, the answer to my prayer.

I was also struck the following day that I can display His glory as I honor and obey Him and reflect Him to a watching world. By God’s power, we can demonstrate that a life filled with His Spirit and surrendered to Him changes us and is to the praise of His glory. May He strengthen us to walk in Him in such a way!

Psalm 66:2 “Sing the glory of his name; make his praise glorious!“

Happy Thanksgiving!

Carolyn

Hebrews 13:15 “Therefore by Him let us continually offer the sacrifice of praise to God, that is, the fruit of our lips, giving thanks to His name.”

I’m a day late. But how can I hope to give praise to the Lord through this blog and skip this holiday of giving thanks? It was a great week having family in town, going to a school praise night on Tuesday, going to a Thanksgiving eve service at church on Wednesday, and celebrating Thanksgiving with extended family yesterday. What a full few days it has been!

How can I measure the fullness of what God has done and for which I should be thankful? For starters, I think of the amazing list in Ephesians 1 & 2 of what is ours through Christ; in Him, I am:

loved,
blessed,
chosen,
adopted,
accepted,
redeemed,
forgiven,
predestined,
sealed with the Spirit,
called,
rich,
given grace,

and I have:

obtained an inheritance,
been brought near by His blood,
been made alive,
been raised up with Christ,
been seated with Christ in the heavenlies, and
been given access by one Spirit to the Father.

My mind can’t totally comprehend, my eyes don’t often clearly see, and my heart too often fails to even acknowledge it. I too often sit “full, but unfulfilled,” a phrase I just picked up from a book called Making All Things New by Henri Nouwen. Nouwen suggests we are full, meaning busy with our lives, yet unfulfilled, as in bored or depressed in the midst of our being busy.

Nouwen urges his reader to seek the things above and His kingdom, and set our hearts on Christ through the spiritual disciplines of solitude and community.

Solitude. Time alone with God in a small room or area of a room or prayer closet where we close out the distractions, begin reading Scripture, pray, and allow ourselves to hear the voice of God’s Spirit. Even just 10 minutes a day — it can be in small doses, but needs to be consistent & regular. It’s something we can dread to start until we begin to see what God does through time spent with Him.

I need to go back to cultivating the discipline of solitude. (Although since “solitude” is about being alone, I guess it’s not really solitude since the Lord is there!) But time with Him to read the Bible and pray and let His Spirit lead and speak.

I find I am forgetful, just as the Israelites of old were. Thus the many reminders throughout Scripture to “remember:” “Remember what great things He has done for you.” I want to remember. I want to meditate on His greatness and power, on who He is, and on who I am because of Him.

And in remembering His great mercy and love, lavishly poured out on me through Christ, I want to give Him thanks and praise Him today and always.