Years ago in church we sang a song that struck a chord in my heart and resonated through my life for years. The lyrics were simple, “Open the eyes of my heart, I want to see You.” I have whispered that phrase more than any other request in my prayer closet. I want to see God. I want to hear Him. I want to commune with Him so deeply that I may know Him as fully as possible in this human frame.
I have to believe that I am not alone in this desire. Made in the image of the Creator, we instinctively long for His glorious presence. It is the paradox of loving God to be satisfied and moved to greater hunger at the same moment.
Moses stood on Sinai’s rocky summit and pleaded, “If I have found favor in Your sight, show me Your ways that I may know You…Show me Your glory.”(Exodus 33:13,18)
David mused, “This one thing I desire that I may dwell in Your house all the days of my life, to gaze on Your beauty and inquire in Your temple.”
The human heart has always cried, Let me SEE You, God! That is why I don’t believe that Jesus was surprised at the dinner conversation in the upper room that night. As He assured the disciples that because they had known Him they had also known the Father, Philip sat with his heart burning in his chest. He sat there until he couldn’t hold it in any longer and exclaimed, “Lord, show us the Father [cause us to see the Father—that is all we ask]; then we shall be satisfied.” (Jn 14:8)
I love that the Lord didn’t rebuke Philip for the request. I can imagine that a small smile played around His lips as He responded, Have I been with all of you for so long a time, and do you not recognize and know Me yet, Philip? Anyone who has seen Me has seen the Father. (14:9) Jesus was plain that night. He was no longer asking, do you know Who I Am? He was telling them openly, If you want to see God, look at Me.
I don’t know about you, but I can identify with Philip. How often have I thought, If I could only see God in my circumstance! It is usually in some hard situation, when rejection has stung my heart, or the bank account is low, or disappointment has left me wrung out and aching. I say it when I feel intimidated by some challenge I am facing in life. If only I could see God –see Him moving, rearranging our circumstances, DOING something–then I could trust, believe, hold on, be satisfied where I am!
That is when I have to remind myself, these eyes can only see by the light of this world, and my relationship with the Lord is rests on something far superior than the dirt in which I stand. This salvation is not determined by my senses, my religious devotion, my frantic activity, and most definitely not by my feelings. No matter what I feel, no matter what I hear, no matter what I see, my relationship with God is dependent on one thing alone–what Jesus did on the cross. Jesus paid the price for my sins and He loves me with an unstoppable passion. So when the devil comes whispering how I am alone and vulnerable, I choose to stand my ground on the beachhead of my emotions and declare, “By faith, I will stand and look at God. I will see Him in the words of red in my Bible. I see God when I look at Jesus.”
Maybe that is where you are today–desperately needing to see God. Maybe you just need a faith lift. If so, I have a word for you from the Lord for you, “If you want to see God, LOOK AT ME!”
Are you feeling alone? Look at Jesus Who has said, I will never leave you nor forsake you. (Heb 13:5) Is your money shorter than your month? Look at Jesus Who has said, How much more shall your Father which is in heaven give good things to them that ask him? (Mt 7:11 ) Are you facing a struggle that is just bigger than you are? Look at Jesus Who says to boat sinking waves, Peace, be still! (Mk 4:39) Just look at Jesus and be assured that He loves you! Take heart, your Help is much closer than you realize!
Pray with me?
Father, we come with eyes open to Your presence. We trust You, in the good times and the hard times, and even in the dark. We ask You to reveal Your love for us in the face of Jesus. We look at You in faith. Help us to see You.
