Stephen spoke this morning about keeping our vision clear. Ps 16:1,5, 8 all speak of the refuge, security and peace which God can bring us, and in these uncertain times, when we may feel unsettled and afraid, it’s more important than ever that we fix our eyes on the Lord and trust in Him.
Stephen recently purchased new glasses which were single-vision, and although these were useful when driving, when it came to reading, his vision was blurred; he needed varifocal lenses in order to be able to see clearly in all situations. Our vision of God can easily become clouded or blurred and our thoughts can stray from Him when we are faced by difficult circumstances. Like Peter out on the waves (Matt 14:25-31), when we take our eyes off Jesus, we easily sink. That moment for Peter of realising the power of Jesus to walk on the water and then doing the same must have been a real ‘buzz moment’, but it’s easy to lose our footing when we focus on the size of the waves rather than on God’s presence with us.
God is there to save us, to catch us, to bring us to a place of refuge and security; His arm is always outstretched towards us, but we need to reach out to Him as well. When we do that, we will find Him there, ready and waiting; as Casting Crowns sing, ‘I’m not holding on to You, but You’re holding on to me.’ (‘East To West’) God is able to be our portion, our cup, our refuge, our strength, our security: when we fix our gaze on Him, we will find we have all we need for every situation.
