Published 1/1/20
Read 1 Corinthians 2:1-5
"And I, when I came to you, brothers, did not come proclaiming to you the testimony of God with lofty speech or wisdom. For I decided to know nothing among you except Jesus Christ and him crucified. And I was with you in weakness and in fear and much trembling, and my speech and my message were not in plausible words of wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power, so that your faith might not rest in the wisdom of men but in the power of God."
Reflect
When you think about God, what images come to mind? What can you do to focus on who He is?
It's so easy for our spiritual eyesight to become foggy, clouded by disappointments or marred by difficult circumstances. Sometimes we're so focused on ourselves that we can't see anyone or anything else. We begin to think the Christian life is all about us instead of all about God. Often, we're like the disciples, with our eyes fixed on the trials and tumultuous waves that threaten to sink our ship. I love what Anne Graham Lotz said about this: "When we are faced with great problems, our tendency is to focus on the hands of God--what He has not done for us and what we want Him to do for us--instead of focusing on the face of God--simply who He is. Our depression can deepen through this kind of self-preoccupation. Often, in the midst of great problems, we stop short of the real blessing God has for us, which is a fresh vision of who He is."
Sometimes our view of God is colored by old attitudes and impressions of Him perceived through the filter of our childhood experiences or the intensity of our present pain, as we're going to see in the chapters ahead. And even if we've been a Christian for a long time, just as a marriage can get stale to the point that we walk past our mate day after day and hardly notice him or her, we do the same with the Lord. We lose the vision of His majesty, rich mercy, and amazing loving-kindness, and we have a hard time staying connected. We can attend church services regularly and miss seeing Jesus.
Pray
Lord Jesus, thank You for revealing Yourself to me. Help me to see You clearly. Amen.