Recently, I found myself feeling anxious and struggling. That same morning, I had music playing in my room. A song came on which I had heard many times before, but it suddenly ministered so powerfully to me. Many of you probably know the song - “Open the Eyes of My Heart”:
Open the eyes of my heart
I want to see You
I want to see You
To see You high and lifted up
To see You high and lifted up
Shining in the light of Your glory
Pour out Your power and love
As we sing holy, holy, holy...”
As I listened to those words, I was reminded of how desperately I needed my eyes to be opened; to see the Lord high and lifted up. I needed to see His glory, which makes all else fade in the background. I thought about how so often I only see my anxieties. So often I only see the things that cause me stress or the challenges I face throughout the day. Admittedly, far too often all I see is myself, instead of seeing the Lord high and lifted up. Too often I see much of my anxiety, and little of Jesus. When I see Him high and lifted up, everything changes. The words to this song became my prayer. I want the Lord to open the eyes of my heart, to have eyes that see Him, even in the daily struggles and challenges. I want to have eyes that look past myself and unto Jesus.
On another day that was especially challenging for me, the Lord brought to my mind Hebrews 11:27:
“By faith he forsook Egypt, not fearing the wrath of the king; for he endured as seeing Him who is invisible”.
I love that! Moses endured because he saw Him who is invisible. He saw God, and that gave him the strength to keep pressing on, to keep going, even through the difficulties that came his way. I want to have eyes that see God’s goodness, even in the challenges. I want to have eyes that see His grace, even in my failures. I want to have eyes that see Him in all things. I’ve learned that when I see Jesus, everything changes.
I long for the eyes of my heart to be open. I want to see Jesus high and lifted up, on both the good days and the challenging ones. When I have eyes that see Jesus, I can endure any challenge with great joy, because He is beautiful.
“Therefore we also, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which so easily ensnares us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith, who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.”
~Hebrews 12:1-2
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