Surrendering to the Work of the Master Artist in Your Life Over the last few weeks we have been looking at what it means to be transformed into the masterpiece the Father has created us to be. We’ve explored the promise of transformation and restoration as we surrender to the work of His hands. Last week Sherry posted a beautiful video on how the Master Gardener works on our hearts for His purpose and glory. In the next few Monday Musings I invite you to take a journey with me through prayer and the Word to take a deeper look at the beautiful portrait the Father desires to paint with our lives. This journey will be a personal one for you and me and it will take some quiet time for reflection. As the heavenly Father works on transforming us into the masterpiece he has created us to be, he transforms our sight. The portrait He paints will have His eyes. Please take a moment now in prayer and ask God to open your spiritual eyes. Praying the words of Scripture and making it personal is one of the best ways to pray. Ephesians 1:18-20 (NIV) - (Personalized) I pray also that the eyes of my heart may be enlightened so that I may know the hope to which You have called me, the riches of Your glorious inheritance in the saints, 19 and Your incomparably great power for us who believe. That power is like the working of His mighty strength, 20 which He exerted in Christ when He raised Him from the dead and seated Him at His right hand in the heavenly realms, When we truly look at our lives through God’s eyes and ask Him to give us His perspective we become lost in wonder, amazed at His grace, astounded at the depth of His mercy and convinced of His unending generosity in our lives.  In our sin we often look at life with a sense of entitlement. Yet Scripture tells us in Genesis 3:17,19 that because of Adam’s sin and ours we deserve painful toil, eternal hell. But God in His grace sent His Son to save us and His completed work instead provides hope for eternity in heaven with Him. Please take a moment now to pause and praise God for His goodness and grace and your salvation. Often we become so overwhelmed with the concerns, frustrations and stress in our lives that our eyesight grows dim. I’ve certainly been there at times. One helpful lesson I’ve learned when I feel overwhelmed is to just stop a moment and ponder the simple things that bring joy into my life. What are some of the daily blessings that are God’s gift to you? I think it’s helpful to even write them down. It could be your family, a delicious meal, a conversation with a friend, a garden view, a home for shelter, the kindness of a neighbor, the love of your spouse. Here are some of the blessings and gifts I’ve experienced just this weekend. Today I attended a 90th birthday party for a woman I have known since I was a baby. She was the first person my mom met when we moved to Baton Rouge and we lived on the same street. I’m so grateful for the investment she and her husband made in my life, for the history I have with her children even though we see each other so rarely now, for the love that has spanned generations, and for the faith that we share in the Lord. Last night we attended a going away party for dear friends that we have known since high school and college. We ate and sang, shared laughter and sweet memories. What a blessing when the Lord chooses to weave our lives together in deep friendship that lasts through the years. Friendship - what a gift from the Lord! This blog will be posted on June 2, my 35th anniversary! I am so grateful for the blessing of my marriage to Ken all these years, for his love and faithfulness, for the joy and faith we share and for the children and grandchild that He has given us! I could never have imagined the adventures and challenges we would face in our life together. But the Lord has been faithful to renew our hope and faithfully give us a sense of His vision and purpose for our lives and ministry together. Ask the Father to fill you with a renewed sense of joy and His perspective on your life. Now think of a situation, concern or frustration in your life. We all wrestle with struggles that can weigh us down. Sometimes in answer to our prayers, God does change our situation. He often chooses to heal, restore, provide and protect. But sometimes, He chooses to change our perception of the situation if we will let Him. Sometimes the frustration remains until we learn to have His eyes and His wisdom to understand. Ask God to refocus your spiritual eyesight, to adjust your vision. Have you ever offered your eyes to the Father and asked Him to pour His wisdom and perspective into your life and struggles? It changes everything. Spend some time in prayer asking God to give you His vision, His wisdom and perspective. You might even want to journal your thoughts. I have found that asking for God-sight not only changes my perspective on my own life, but it gives me a vision to see others through God’s eyes of compassion. Over and over in the Scriptures we see Jesus looking at the crowds and having compassion on them. Matt. 9:36,14:14, 15:32, and Mark 1:41 are just a few examples. Is there someone in your life who needs the compassionate eyes of Jesus from you? When we are willing, He can transform us to become servants of His selfless love. Look again at verses 19 and 20 in Ephesians 1. "and Your incomparably great power for us who believe. That power is like the working of His mighty strength which He exerted in Christ when He raised Him from the dead and seated Him at His right hand in the heavenly realms," Always remember that God doesn’t leave us powerless to respond when we learn to see with His perspective. As believers, the same power that raised Jesus from the dead is available and at work in you and me! When we see with God’s eyes, we see glimpses of hope at what is possible with God. We begin to see His purpose and His power as we surrender to His work to transform us into His image. Often, when we have chosen to yield, we become God’s eyes for those who are too blind to see clearly for themselves. God is in the business of transformation. Consider the verses below. Take a moment and offer a prayer to the Lord in response to these verses as they apply to your own life.  Training our eyes to see as God sees involves training our minds in Scripture so that we think more like Jesus, submit to God’s will, and depend on God’s empowerment. It also requires discipline and obedience to His Word. Otherwise we may find ourselves in spiritual blindness.  This week let me encourage you to take a praise and worship walk. Sometimes we get so busy with the rush of daily living that we lose our sense of wonder. In your praise walk focus your eyes on the wonder and majesty of your Creator God. Ask the Holy Spirit to show you a verse to meditate on as you go through your days this week. Perhaps one of the ones listed here.  “ My eyes are fixed on you, O Sovereign Lord, in you I take refuge.” - Psalm141:8 As you go on your praise walk and throughout the week consider God's attributes and praise Him for them. Observe the beauty and detail of God’s creation. Your incredible Creator is interested in the smallest details of your life. Listen to the sounds of praise in creation that surround you. The birds sing of the glory of God. Ask God to give you His eyes to see. Don’t rush this time. This is not an exercise walk, but a time of praise, reflection and wonder. Consider the order of Creation, the Sovereignty of God, His Faithfulness, His power, His grace and His beauty. Our God reigns over all! Offer up your prayers and praise to the Father as you walk. Prayer Father, thank you for blessing me with eyes that behold the wonder and beauty of your Creation. I pray that you would give me God-sight as I journey in the days ahead. Grant me eyes that see with Your perspective and wisdom as I face the struggles and circumstances of life. Father, please transform my eyes with a vision for Your glory. Deliver me from eyes that are consumed with selfish pleasures, and sanctify them for your divine purposes. I pray that they would settle on all that is good and pure and true as I walk in this world that is often so dark with sin. Awaken my perception so that my eyes will see where your mercy, compassion, grace and love are needed. Help me to rely on your power to serve as you transform my eyes for your kingdom purposes. And Father, as I begin to see more clearly with Your eyes, give me courage to faithfully walk in obedience. May others see the reflection of You in the portrait of my eyes. In Jesus’ name, Amen  May we grow this week in our understanding of what it means to surrender to the work of the Master Artist in our lives. And may we discover the joy and wonder of learning to see with the beauty of His eyes. Blessings in your time in the Word and prayer, Kathy If you would like to receive the "Monday Musings" RESTORE blog each week via email, please sign up and enter your email address in the upper right hand corner. 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1 Comment
Sherry
6/2/2014 03:37:18 am
Thanks for the encouragement to gaining a holy perspective! Leave a Reply. |
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