Turn Your Eyes Upon Jesus . . .

     As Christians we say that our devotional time with the Lord is special.    Lately I've been  thinking about it.  What are the reasons behind devotions and worship time?  So pondering such questions, I decided to spend an entire day alone with the Lord.  I chose to only focus on Him.  Fasting, praying, reading the Scriptures, writing about Him, attending a hour Soaking Room and pondering only thoughts about His glory and grace.  Twenty-four hours of focus, love and worship alone with Him.

     Before I get into how I was so overwhelmed by this day (and still am), I must admit there were challenges.  I quickly identified distractions and surrendered them to the Lord. I could be poetic here and write something inspiring, but the world and it's realities are deeply ingraned and I had to keep re-focusing.  No phone, no computer, no iPad, no TV, no interactions with anyone, no news, no music except Christian music with no focus on the musicians. no travel (other than to and from the Soaking Room), no food or planning meals . . . IN ALL TRUTH, it was an amazing day! 

     The morning began with complete focus and dedication.   Prayer with periods of silence and openness.  Then time spent in the Word.  Victory Christian Center provided a wonderful environment for soaking in His presence.  As the day grew, my heart was overflowing with such gratitude.  The afternoon spent in silence, pondering, writing and listening.  Overwhelmed with His presence . . .  I could go on, but there are no words to explain it.   I found myself drenched in all of it and singing the song written by Helen H. Lemmel in 1922:
                                      ~

        "Turn your eyes upon Jesus,
        Look full in His wonderful face,
        And the things of earth will grow strangely dim,
        In the light of His glory and grace." 

                               ~

     Yes, that was the truth.  It was heavenly to be in "the light of His glory and grace.". No fast pace world, no earthly pull on me . . .   My mind was no longer saturated with thoughts about news, crime, disasters....  No TV, concerts, football games or entertainment distractions drawing me into mundane silliness.  No bills or financial statements, no need to figure out my net worth.  No fighting with health care or insurance companies.  No discouragement from politics or what's happening in Washington, D.C.   MY ONLY FOCUS was on my Lord and Savior.  I felt victorious, complete, secure, overwhelmed, renewed.... The vulnerability I normally felt from life's chaotic realities now gone.  Truly the 'things of this earth' had 'grown strangely dim in the light of His glory and grace.'

     There's no therapy more healing than spending time with the Lord. I was flooded with His wisdom and truth. There's no earthly activities or attractions that compare to the intimacy of being in His presence.  His Word provides such hope and direction....    Clarity from prayer came with time, silence, and vulnerability before Him.  Sadly, our consumed lives have reduced our time with the Lord as nothing more than something on our 'to do list.'  Shouldn't we be desperate to spend time with Him??? In the end will we be reaching out to Him or fighting to hold on to this world?  My testimony from that day can be summed up in the words of Helen H. Lemmel's song :  

                                            ~

         "the things of earth will grow strangely dim,
        In the light of His glory and grace."