Look at Me!

“Turn to me and be saved, all you ends of the earth;
for I am God, and there is no other.”

(Isaiah 45:22)

Reflection:
Sometimes it seems as if the blessings of God distract us from God Himself. Where our needs cause us to turn to Him very often what we seek is not so much the Lord Himself but the blessings that come from Him. We look for His help, His comfort, His healing, His protection, His provision and His miracles.

As wonderful and valuable as these things are they are not the Lord Himself. There is more to salvation than the alleviation of distress and the provision of comforts in this life. These things will also pass away. The Lord instead calls us to “Turn to Me and be saved” Other translations have it as “Look to Me and be saved.” The emphasis is clearly that our salvation is in the Lord Himself and nowhere else. Jesus would call people to ‘Come to Me,’ ‘Follow Me’ and to ‘Abide (Live, Remain) in Me.’ More than His giving us eternal life as an external blessing He is drawing us into the Life eternal that is in Him. It does not exist apart from Him.

As Oswald Chambers writes, “The teaching of the Sermon on the Mount is, in effect – Narrow all your interests until the attitude of mind and heart and body is concentration on Jesus Christ.” He did not promise us comfort but He did promise us the fullness of life, joy and peace – all of which are products of our relationship with Him.

Response:
God is more important than my pressures, pain or problems.

Prayer:

Lord You call me to love You. Please help me to focus on You and not so much on myself. Amen.

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