There was a time that I was praying, asking Him where He was. I knew He was with me, yet I was not “seeing” Him, no longer sensing face-to-face, heart-to-heart communion with Him. Suddenly I found myself in an open vision. Jesus had come into the room, come to where I was sitting, reaching down, He gently cupped my chin in His hand and turned my face toward Him. He said, “I am over here.”
Somehow, I had become distracted. My gaze had left His. He had shifted, and I had not shifted with Him. My focus was so intent on a prior conversation, and previous instructions, that I had not realized He was moving on.
Distractions can come in many forms: situations, circumstances, media, and other people, to name a few. Some require our attention, many do not. The enemy would like to divert our focus to something that may be good, just as long our attention is taken from the King. Other distractions may be an attempt to harass, disarm, and derail us. In the end, the adversary’s intentions are always to kill, steal and destroy, if not immediately, then in stages.
In my case, what became a distraction, preventing me from seeing Him shift, was that my focus had shifted to what He was doing and asking of me during a season, instead of Him. So deceptive. My relationship with Him was being replaced by obedience to Him. The what and the how were taking the place of the WHO. He had given me strategies for things I was to do, but those were not meant to hold my gaze.
When a horse running a race, they wear blinders. They cannot afford to be distracted by another horse, another rider, the audience, or a diversion on the track. The horse must remain in rhythm, running as one with the jockey, sensitive to each direction, each shift, so that its response is instant. This is not only necessary for the victory, but also to keep the horse safe from injury and possibly death.
Just as a horse wears blinders, we wear the helmet of salvation, casting down thoughts and imaginations not aligning with His words. We do not look to the left or the right; He is our focus. We remain in intimate relationship with Him.
May He have our full attention. May we lay down reasoning, understanding, and presumption. His thoughts and ways are much higher than ours. He will not lead us according to the wisdom of man. He leads in ways that confound the wise. He leads us down paths that require complete dependence on and faith in Him. A life which declares, “Not I, but Him alone.”
May we continue in a walk of surrender and obedience that takes us across a line… to a point of no return… so that our lives would be a demonstration of His faithfulness to us, His power in and through us, and His love surrounding us.
May we wear blinders, preventing distractions that would remove our focus, dull our hearing, diminish our love for Him, and our sensitivity towards Him. These are elements of ‘above all, guard your heart.’ Guard your garden. Out of it flows life. From this,
others will fill their cup and drink.
Things will be shifting quickly. Eyes on Him, while leaning in and hearkening to His voice. Keep your focus, lock your gaze with His. He is… right there. With you, in you, to lead you, protect you… never leaving you. Allow Him to cup your chin in His hand, adjusting your gaze, so that you may look into His eyes, and see… only Him.
Proverbs 3:5-6
Proverbs 4:23
1 Cor. 1:27
1 Cor 9:24-27
Hebrews 12:1
Photo of the eagle by Sasse
Reigning With Him. 