Philippians 4:4 "Rejoice in the Lord always, and again I say rejoice."
When Paul wrote that verse he was not in the best situation in his life, all was certainly, not going well. He was in prison because of his love for Jesus, for sharing the gospel and going against the grain. Yet as he wrote the letter to the Philippians he found reason to rejoice, even in the midst of a not so perfect situation.
The reason? He never got caught up in his situation, he was caught up in a relationship. A relationship that kept his focus off what was going on around him. He saw what was going on in him and above him. We find that hard to do since all we tend to see is just that, only what we see. What about what we cannot see at times? God's hand working, even in the midst of our trials and turmoil.
God is always there, He promised us He would never leave us or forsake us. Even when we think, and wonder where is God right now? In this struggle I am going through, in this sickness I am dealing with, all the unfairness in the world, where is God? Right there, right beside you every moment of everyday, He is there. When we see Him the least, that is when He is with us the most!
My eye Doctor is one such person, he has been dealing with cancer. He has had good reports, and has just received a not so good report. He has had answered prayer, and now it seems like the direction has changed. Has God not answered the prayers of family and friends? Yes! He has and will continue, it may not be the answer we are looking for, but He is answering.
When I was with Steven the other day, his smile lit up the exam room as we shared and talked about what Jesus was doing. How, though the news was not what was expected, his concerns were not for himself but for those loved ones in his family. He has been an encouragement even in the midst of the trials he is going through. Steven has heaven vision, a 20/20 vision of hope seeing beyond his situation.
If Steven can be rejoicing in his trials, why can't we? Why can't we rejoice in our prayers instead of being discouraged in our prayers? Why can't we see God's hand in all this? We are looking horizontally, we have taken ours eyes off the healer, and put them on only what we can see. I am not saying that we will not have days of discouragement; but even in the times of discouragement we can have joy.
A day without joy? Sure we can have them if we so choose. Why not choose to have something better? Yes we can choose, we can rejoice always in the Lord no matter what, or choose to be disappointed. We can choose to set our eyes on our situation, or set them on the One who is in every situation. We can have a Paul and a Steven kinda of life in Christ with victory, or settle for what we can only see!
Why not get some heaven vision, a 20/20 look beyond what we can see, through our trials and tribulations. To a hope, that can only be found in knowing Jesus Christ as Savoir. Call out to Him today ask Him to be Lord of your life, to set you free from the fear of the unknown. From the bondage of sin that grips you and keeps you from seeing truth. No better eye exam than HEAVEN VISION!
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