Thoughts from Mark "Hat" Rackley

Why, my soul, are you downcast?
    Why so disturbed within me?
Put your hope in God,
    for I will yet praise him,
    my Savior and my God.

• Psalm 42:5

“Help me learn to live above my circumstances. I realize this requires focused time with You, the One who has overcome the world. Trouble and distress are woven into the very fabric of this perishing world. Only Your Life in me can empower me to face the endless flow of problems with good cheer.
“As I relax in Your Presence-sitting quietly with You-You shine Peace into my troubled mind and heart. Little by little, through this time of focusing on You and Your Word, I am set free from earthly shackles and lifted above my circumstances. I gain Your perspective on my life-enabling me to distinguish between things that are important and things that are not. Moreover, resting in Your Presence blesses me with Joy that no one will take away from me.”

• Sarah Young, Jesus Listens (devotion for 9 April)

Can we see Jesus sitting at the right hand of the Father?  Not with our physical eyes.  Can we literally keep our eyes on Jesus?  No.

But in the spiritual sense, we can do that.  Then, regardless of the circumstances beneath our gaze, we know God loves us and has a great plan for our lives.

When we are driving, our eyes need to be on the road and assessing the situation.  Business meetings have the proverbial crocodiles lurking around every bend.  Family can sometimes be more cut-throat than anyone you meet on the street.  Health can fail.

But while our physical eyes stay focused on the danger, and our mind assesses the best course of action, our spiritual vision is on Jesus, knowing He has the issue well in hand.

We are not invincible, but we will never really die.  One second we breathe our last, and the next nanosecond, Jesus is welcoming us home.

Until then, we keep putting one foot in front of the other and trusting God in the direction He wants us to go.

Soli Deo Gloria.  Only to God be the Glory.