The Big Picture

When I first learned to drive, my dad gave me some great advice, "Never lose sight of the bigger picture."  He trained me to constantly monitor what was happening on my left and right, in my rear-view mirror, and as far down the road as I could see.  Over the years, I've realized that Dad's words apply not just to driving a car, but to other areas of life as well.

Jesus had similar advice when He spoke to His disciples about their role in the world, "...open your eyes and look at the fields!" (John 4:35)  In other words, one of the first priorities for every follower of Christ is to cultivate a global perspective.

When my wife and I use to take walks, I sometimes caught myself looking down at the ground in front of me.  I keep reminding myself to look up and take in my surroundings.  It's a far more inspiring view.  Life is too short to spend it staring at the ground.

Many believers don't take time to appreciate the grand sweep of God's redemptive plan in the scriptures and how God has uniquely prepared them to participate.  When we lift our eyes, our hearts will be touched by the immensity of the harvest task, the scarcity of workers, and the spiritual readiness of many to embrace the good news.

"Never lose sight of the bigger picture."  Through the years, Dad's advice has protected me from danger and distraction.  And each time I lift my eyes, I am changed.  I see things I never noticed before.  The picture gets clearer, and my life takes on more meaning.  And my passion to connect "those who know" with "those who don't" grows.

How about you? Have you lifted your eyes lately?

“Go into all the world and preach the good news to all creation.” (Mark 16:15)

 

 Can God change your life?

God has made it possible for you to know Him, and experience 

an amazing change in your own life.

Discover how you can find peace with God.

Seeking After God

“O God, you are my God, earnestly I seek you; my soul thirsts for you, my body longs for you, in a dry and weary land where there is no water.” (Psalm 63:1)

If you had to pick a single word to describe our society today, possibly the most accurate word would be pressure. We live in a day marked by pressure in almost every area of life. At five years old we are thrust into school where there is pressure to compete for grades.  We join athletic teams where there is more pressure to excel.  We face the pressure of getting into college and then to graduate.  Following college, there is the pressure of getting a good job and hopefully do well enough to be promoted.

There are also family pressures.  Trying to find the right mate and building a solid marriage in a culture where divorce is easy and accepted.  And then, there are the pressures of raising godly children in our pagan society.  World problems, economic problems, personal problems, and the problems of friends and loved ones all press upon us.

In the middle of such pressures, there is one thing that will determine the course of your life; your priorities. Everyone has a set of priorities. If your priorities are not clearly defined, you will be swept downstream in life by various pressures, the seeming victim of your circumstances. 

King David was a man who knew what it meant to live under pressure.  As the king of Israel, he knew the pressures of leadership.  During that time, his son, Absalom led a rebellion against him.  And David spent a short while in the northeastern portion of the wilderness of Judah before he crossed over the Jordan River.  In that barren land, fleeing for his life from his own son, feeling disgraced and rejected, with an uncertain future, David wrote Psalm 63.

It is one of the most loved psalms in the Old Testament. John Chrysostom (347-407 AD) wrote “that it was decreed and ordained by the primitive [church] fathers, that no day should pass without the public singing of this Psalm.”

Psalm 63 shows us the priority of this man of God under pressure.  If you or I were under the kinds of pressure David faced at this point in his life, I doubt if we would be writing songs.  If we did, the song would probably contain a lot of urgent requests: “Help, God! Get me out of here!”

But it is interesting that Psalm 63 contains no requests.  Here David expresses only desire for God’s presence, praise, joy, fellowship with God, and confidence in God’s salvation.  The psalm shows us that David’s priority was to “seek the Lord.”   

Scripture teaches us that no matter what pressures come into our lives, we will be able to better handle them only if we maintain this one priority above all else, Earnestly seek after God!  

Look back on your past week or month and ask yourself, “Did my schedule reflect that seeking God was my number one priority?”  You say, “Well, that’s my priority, but I’ve been under a lot of pressure!”  Pressure is what reveals your true priorities.  When the pressure is on, everything but the essential gets set aside.  The Holy Spirit is telling us through David, “Seeking God is essential!”

“Seek the LORD and His strength; Seek His face continually.” (1 Chronicles 16:11)

Can God change your life?

God has made it possible for you to know Him, and experience an amazing
change in your own life.

Discover how you can find peace with God.