Gaze at Him...

I want to share with you something I read in my devotion book. It really caught my attention and it made me think about how I look at things. Here is the first few sentences of the devotion:

"The reason our personal problems and difficulties seem so large and ominous is due mainly to the fact that we have not brought God into proper focus. When we are able to see Him as He really is - "high and lofty"- then all our troubles and anxieties are reduced to their proper proportions."

Now if that don't make you stop and think... well I don't know what will. Why is it that we seem to bog ourselves down in all our problems, anxieties, and miseries. I catch myself all the time just dwelling on the small things. When really I need to see the big picture... God is on His throne and He is ready to take control. Why is it that we are so stubborn and refuse to give it to Him and let Him have control. Are we really that selfish? I guess so. We need to start focusing on Him and how powerful He is... instead of letting our personal problems get the best of us.

At the end of my devotion there is always a prayer that applies to what the devotion is about. I want to share the prayer with you too. So here it is:

"O God, my Father, forgive me that my life is taken up more with the immediate that the ultimate. I have been glancing at You and gazing at my circumstances. From today it will be different - I will glance at my circumstances and gaze at You. Amen."

Shouldn't that be our prayer everyday. That we just glance at our circumstances but really gaze at Him and dwell on Him all day long. Letting Him take control of our lives and our everyday problems, because He will. Stress gets you know where - only big zits on your face. Haha... trust me, I would know that. :) So, lets start focusing on our Savior and how He is there for us each day waiting to listen to us and surrender our circumstances to Him. Remember: "When we are able to see Him as He really is -"high and lofty"- then our troubles and anxieties are reduced to their proper proportions."

Here are some helpful scriptures that I like to read, to remind myself of who God really is and how He is in control.

Philippians 4:6-7 - "Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus."

1 Peter 5:6-7 - "Humble yourselves, therefore, under the mighty hand of God so that at the

proper time He may exalt you, casting all your anxieties on Him, because He cares for you."

Luke12:22-31 - "And He said to His disciples, "Therefore, I tell you, do not be anxious about your life, what you will eat, nor about your body, what you will put on. For life is more than food, and the body more than clothing. Consider the ravens: they neither sow nor reap, they have neither storehouse nor barn, and yet God feeds them. Of how much more value are you than the birds! And which of you by being anxious can add a single hour to his span of life? If then you are not able to do as small a thing as that, than why are you anxious about the rest? Consider the lilies, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin, yet I tell you, even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. But if God so clothes the grass, which is alive in the field today, and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, how much more will he clothe you, O you of little faith! And do not seek what you are to eat and what you are to drink, nor be worried. For all the nations of the world seek after these things, and your Father knows that you need them. Instead, seek His kingdom, and these things will be added to you."

Matthew 6:34 - "Therefore do not be anxious about tomorrow, for tomorrow will be anxious for itself. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble."