The Eyes of Your Heart

Paul's admonition to "live by faith, not by sight" (2 Cor. 5:7, NIV) seems especially appropriate when to all appearances the world is falling apart. But we often forget that it applies equally well when you're settled into a dream job, your bank account is full, and your family hasn't had a serious fight in months. When things are going well, it's easy to get comfortable and forget to thank God for His generosity: "You may say to yourself, 'My power and the strength of my hands have produced this wealth for me'" (Dt. 8:17).

And we also tend to live as if the way things are--good or bad--came with a guarantee of permanence. How many people went to their offices in the World Trade Center expecting September 11, 2001 to be a routine work day? How many New Orleans residents were going about business as usual on August 23, 2005, never suspecting that a hurricane forming over the Bahamas would wash away much of their city a week later? How many people will be caught with their lives planned out in all confidence for the next fifty years, on the day Christ returns? (See Luke 17:26-37.)

Sadder yet are the cases of people who themselves created the disasters they failed to see coming. There was the Christian businessman who seemingly "had it all"--wealth, position, respect, health, family--and then decided to sin "just a little." A little led to more and more, and he wound up in a counselor's office with his life in shambles, moaning, "I thought God's hand was on me forever and whatever I did would turn to gold." Just because God has filled your life with material blessings doesn't mean He likes you so much that He'll smile indulgently if you flirt with your secretary or pad your expense account.

Besides, prosperity comes with its own headaches and chaos--as many a workaholic recovering from a premature heart attack can attest. God is the only truly stable point in anyone's life.

When the whole world seems crazy and out of control,
Fix the eyes of your heart on the Lord.
When your mind won't stop racing and you can't see the goal,
Fix the eyes of your heart on the Lord.
The eyes in your head will deceive you;
The eyes of your mind wander far;
But when you can't seem to see straight anymore,
Look to God with the eyes of your heart.

When you've got so much duty that you wish you were twins,
Fix the eyes of your heart on the Lord.
When demands press upon you till the whole world just spins,
Fix the eyes of your heart on the Lord.
The eyes in your head may be pretty;
The eyes of your mind may be smart;
But when you can't focus on what you should do,
Look to God with the eyes of your heart.