Skip to main content

Lift up eyes

Welcome to my December 2012, blog-post!

image source: dreamstime.com
We are just moments away from 2013! Praise God for His faithfulness. I am exceedingly grateful to God for a wonderful year, filled with the richness of His love through Christ Jesus our Lord!

There are three words that have been resonating with me through this holiday season,   "lift up eyes". Let me share some thoughts with you.

The Dictionary defines "lift" as, "to move or bring(something) upward from the ground or other support, to a higher position; to raise or direct upward..." (Dictionary.com).

For some of us, the journey may not have been plain sailing. There were challenges encountered that reminded us of how limited we were. Discouragement slows us down and we put things on hold. What does the enemy hold before us to captivate our attention and keep us from God?  Instead of pressing in to God to find the solutions for our problems, we give in to Satan who leads us away to something else. And so the "wool has been pulled over our eyes" and we are kept in darkness. We make little decisions... instead of the big ones that we need to make about what God requires of us.

Praise God that He wants to direct us from the lower places we are at, upward to a place, where the Apostle Paul says, "God raised us up with Christ and seated us with him in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus" Ephesians 2:6.

I'm reminded of the story of Joshua at the time before the conquest of Jericho. Moses was gone and Joshua was faced with the enormous task of leading the children of Israel across to the promised land. Let's look at Joshua 5:13-14 says :
"And it came to pass, when Joshua was by Jericho, that he lifted up his eyes and looked, and, behold, there stood a man over against him with his sword drawn in his hand: and Joshua went to him, and said to him, Are you for us, or for our adversaries?"
“Neither,” he replied, “but as commander of the army of the Lord I have now come.” Then Joshua fell face down to the ground in reverence, and asked him, “What message does my Lord have for his servant?”
The commander of the Lord’s army replied, “Take off your sandals, for the place where you are standing is holy.” And Joshua did so.

What position will you take as we move into the new year? The Psalmist says in Psalm 121:1, "I will lift up my eyes to the hills -- where does my help come from?  There will be spiritual battles to fight in 2013. To Joshua, God revealed himself as a man of war. He stands with his sword drawn in his hand, ready to defend us against our enemies. In the rest of the seven verses in Psalm 121, God is portrayed as our Creator, our ever-vigilant guardian, our refuge and guide and He assures us of His Presence with us! Halleluiah!!

So, will you lift up your eyes and trust God in the coming year!

A Word Of Prayer :
Heavenly Father, Help us to keep our eyes on You. 
For only with your presence and help can we conquer 
our promised land in 2013.In Jesus Name!

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!

Comments

  1. SPEAK TO THE DARKNESSDecember 30, 2012 at 4:35 PM

    (email) from: Gary and Linda Palmer
    6:13 AM (7 hours ago)

    Loved this blog, Lome. . .lifting up my eyes to the Author and Finisher of my faith! Thank you for your faithfulness in sharing these blogs. . . they always increase my faith and love for our Lord Jesus Christ!

    I think that 2013 is a year that God will be really separating those who are really following Him, and in love with Jesus Christ, with those who are just playing "games." The last days are seriously upon us now (we are living in 2 Timothy 3 times), and our focus needs to be on our relationship with the Lord Jesus Christ, daily purifying ourselves as we search our hearts. I love the Lord Jesus so much, and only want to please HIS heart!

    Love you dear sister in the Lord,

    Linda

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

The courage of love

Against the dark background of much despair, the message of Easter, of the resurrection brings to us a bright light of hope. It is a message about the courage of love that sets the Christian faith apart from all other beliefs. It is about a loving God who relentlessly pursues us (Ezekiel 34:12) despite the sin in our lives. During our reflection time at work this week – I was led to read the following scripture: Jesus said to [Martha] “I am the resurrection and the life. The one who believes in me will live, even though they die; and whoever lives by believing in me will never die" (John 11:25-16). Sometimes we don’t think much about the daily acts of courage as we live out our Christian values. It takes courage to speak God's Word in places where you know there are unbelievers who are resistant to the message of he Gospel. I believe this is no time to be satisfied with the status quo in our lives. We should take every opportunity that come and turn them into times
9 comments
Read more

A new year - a "fresh start"

The New Year is here! What a year it's been. And I'm really glad to be starting a New Year. Looking back, 2010 was a busy year. I started a new job at the beginning of the year. Launched my blog (Treasures In Darkness) and started writing. I volunteer weekly as co-host for a radio prayer ministry to the Samoan community and the nations. The ministry celebrated it's first birthday last year. The month of April saw the start of an outreach ministry "Treasures of Hope" to local women in the community. Then in November/December, I attended the 50th Jubilee of Youth With A Mission in Kona, Hawaii. The year closed with the passing away of my father on Christmas day. That year is behind me now. It's time to look ahead! One of the values I had learned from my late father's life was that of ' perseverance. ' He believed in hard work ("if you don't work you don't eat... you become poor"). As a fisherman, he was well known for bringing big
9 comments
Read more

The suddenlies!

Welcome to my November post!   God moves in the suddenlies!   Treasures Of Hope image From little things, big things grow. When a door of opportunities closes, l ittle grace becomes enough grace. We grope in the darkness of the valley until  a glimmer of light appears. Hope! Ju st a little hope, is enough hope, so you hold on to that.    When the unexpected happens, will my mustard-seed faith move the mountain that blocks the way forward? Jesus said, " if you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mountain, 'Move from here to there' and it will move. Nothing will be impossible for you" Matthew 17:20. Two months ago, I resigned from my job and before I had time to ponder over things, I was on a plane to a conference for Pacifi c women in Brisbane, Australia . I had prayed about goin g to this in the past but I'd been so consumed with work and other commitments that I'd forgotten about it. U ntil now, and I thanked G
6 comments
Read more