Looking to Jesus

“Looking unto Jesus, the Author and Finisher of our faith…”

Hebrews 12:2a (NKJV)

Jesus is the Answer to everything. He is where our faith begins and ends.

Many things beg for our attention. Something calls to us from every direction.

Does anything speak more loudly than our problems? They nag. They yell. Our problems do not leave us with the choice whether we will hear them. There is no missing the rude announcement of their arrival.

But not so with Jesus. Jesus calls to us in His sweet voice. He does not nag, nor yell. He does not speak so loudly that we automatically hear Him. In fact, sometimes we do not hear Him at all because we have not been listening.

Listening takes time and it takes quiet.

One day the Lord spoke to me in the shower, as He often does. I kept repeating what He had said to me so I wouldn’t forget it before I could write it down.

Why do you speak to me when I cannot write it down?

“This is one of the rare times you are not listening to something else.” He replied.

Ouch. He was right. Obviously.

The Amplified Classic version begins like this,

“Looking away [from all that will distract] to Jesus…”

It can be difficult to look away from the distractions in front of our eyes, and instead, place our attention on the unseen.

The Passion Translation says, “We look away from the natural realm and we fasten our gaze onto Jesus…”

When we fasten a seat-belt, we make a connection so it stays firmly in place and keeps us safe and secure. As we fasten our gaze onto Jesus, we are connected to Him, safe and secure.

Lately, I have listened to the song, “Give Me Jesus,” at the beginning of my quiet time in the mornings. I have loved it so much. It centers my mind directly on Jesus.

Verse 1:

“In the morning when I rise

In the morning when I rise

In the morning when I rise

Give me Jesus“

Chorus:

“Give me Jesus

Give me Jesus

You can have all this world

But give me Jesus“

Here is the song if you would like to listen.

I wonder how many bad things have happened, or how many good things have not happened, because we did not look to Jesus and receive direction from Him.

Jesus is the Author and Finisher of our faith. There is no better place to look.

Let’s look to Jesus.