Buckling The Belt Of TruthSample

THEME: Buckle up the belt of truth by FOCUSING YOUR GAZE ON CHRIST.

At the risk of sounding really dumb, I admit that it took me way too long before it dawned on me that my main sinful desires have to do with revisiting my past. There must be people who are more tempted by imagining sins in the future— but not me. It just so happened that when God showed me the backward-looking nature of my problem, the very next day He showed me Philippians 3:10-14. I like the GWV here (13b-14) because it makes the running metaphor clear: “I don’t look back, I lengthen my stride and I run straight toward the goal to win the prize…” Other translations are just as helpful— such as NLT: “Forgetting the past and looking forward to what lies ahead.”

Before the realization above dawned on me, if I managed to realize that I was entering into sinful territories of my mind, I would despair, “How can I stop thinking about these things?!” But now I am no longer powerless. The answer is in the verses just quoted. I find that if I consciously direct my mind to the future where— praise the Lord, I have goals and aspirations I am enthusiastic about, then those tempting thoughts amazingly drop away. And not surprisingly, it helps even more if I pray: Lord, help me to forget what lies behind me and lean forward and gaze at what is ahead.

It is not just the future we are to gaze at! Hebrews 12:1-2 tells us to “fix our eyes” on Jesus. It is no small encouragement to realize that we have an awesome crowd of witnesses cheering us on.

We’re not just vaguely looking in Jesus’ direction. In our passages in 2 Corinthians we are encouraged to gaze right into his face. This is beyond my ability to imagine! But we are helped in this life-transforming vision by remembering back to both Day 2 (being resurrected and seated now with Christ in heaven) and 3 (being aided by the Holy Spirit).

Pray like this: Lord help me to lengthen my stride and strain forward— forgetting what lies behind. Help me to keep my eyes fixed on the glorious face of Jesus.