Fix your eyes on Jesus

I told you before that I have a tendency to fuss. Any sin like that works seriously against you, because when you do have a legitimate complaint, people tend to shrug you off. Have you noticed? Or sometimes I exaggerate. And then when I repeat statistics I know are right, my family tends to whittle down what I'm telling them. (Oh, don't you hate your sins? They always hurt us, laugh at us, reduce us!) One Sunday morning I thought through a serious grievance I thought I had against Ray (honestly, I can't remember now what it was), and then I carefully laid it before him. He's normally thoughtful and kind, and I expected him to take me seriously. Ray's comment was, "Oh, Anne, you're fussing again," and he never heard my case at all. My heart was still hurting later when we walked into church. Eventually the choir began to sing Mendelssohn's setting of Psalm 40: "I waited for the Lord; He inclined unto me [He leaned over and listened]; He heard my complaint [He took my grievance seriously!]." At that moment I turned to Him, the One who could truly help. I fixed my eyes on Him, and I drew from Him sympathy and comfort and understanding of my legitimate distress. ("Oh, blessed," sang the choir, "are they that hope and trust in Him.") I was blessed! My need was met, my heart was satisfied. Case closed. Maybe you deal with such painful relationships that this story seems trivial. I've had far more painful ones, too, but the principle is the same: Never expect any mere mortal to completely understand and support you. No one ever could. For that, rush back to Jesus. He is "the high priest who meets our need" (Hebrews 7:26). -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- And rush to prayer: O Lord God, I've been leaning on a stick which can easily snap under my weight. And all the time You've been saying, "Come, lean on Me. I always listen to you, My child. I understand; I will hear and act." Lord, when others disappoint me, I now receive this verse as my own: "We know and rely on the love God has for us" (1 John 4:16). Lord, I want to love and respect and support my fellow humans; help me to do that. But I won't expect more from them than they can deliver. Lord, I fix my eyes on You! Amen. * * * * * What a sweet life is that [of fixing your eyes on Jesus]! The maintaining, strengthening it, has a softening influence; and it is a labor that never wearies, never deceives, but gives each day fresh cause for joy. --Gold Dust