So Alan Wright pulls in today to with a question: For Christians who want to grow spiritually, it may seem natural to ask, “What would Jesus do?” But what if that’s perhaps the wrong question for the same reason that trying to live by the law is the wrong pursuit—it’s powerless. Trying to be a more patient mother or a more loving husband or a more motivated Christian is noble, but, Wright asks, what if that is futile and deeply exhausting? Some years ago, Alan Wright began consciously pausing and asking Jesus for His eyes. “Jesus, how do You see this?” That prayer changed everything. It’s a grace to welcome Alan to the front porch today as we discover this fresh, daily spiritual discipline of pausing, connecting and looking with Jesus…
Eighteen months ago, my sweet mother began suffering worse in a four-year fight against pancreatic cancer. As she approached her eighty-eighth birthday, her abdominal pain intensified, and an ambulance took her to the hospital on an icy January weekend.
“God, if You are real, I need You to open my eyes because I’m sinking down…”
As Mom’s breathing slowed, my grief ran deep because Mom brought me into the world, and she brought me into the kingdom of God.
I don’t know much about my mom and dad’s meeting or romance at Lenoir–Rhyne College, and I don’t know much about where their marriage went wrong. As an elementary school child, I just knew that Dad drank a lot, Mom cried a lot, and I would have given anything for it all to be better.
But it didn’t get better.
Dad left and Mom cried even more. One night, she couldn’t sleep, and she got on her knees at the foot of the lonely king-size bed and cried out,
“God, if You are real, I need You to open my eyes because I’m sinking down, and if You don’t show me the way, I’ll probably take these three boys with me.”
“When they realized that the Lord wasn’t dead in a grave but alive in their midst, their depression evaporated in a flash. Joy rushed into their hearts, and they sprinted to tell others what they’d seen.“
She was the daughter of a Methodist minister and had been in church all her life, but whatever spiritual vision she’d known previously had become thoroughly obscured by the shame of abandonment and the fear of the future.
So she did all she could do—she cried out in the pitch-dark like a blind beggar. And as she did, the Lord woke up an intercessor in a nearby neighborhood.
The next day, an acquaintance of my mother’s who lived several miles away knocked on the door.
“Mary Ann,” she said, “I haven’t seen you in a while, but last night, I was awakened in the middle of the night and couldn’t get you off my heart. I felt like there was something troubling you, and I spent a long time praying for you. I’ve come today to see if you are all right….”
After explaining the pain of her life, my mother told her acquaintance about her nighttime cry to God, and the dear saint introduced my mom to the reality of Jesus and the healing wonder of the gospel. … Soon, my mother assembled her three boys in the den and told us that God loves us, Jesus is alive, the Bible is the Word of God, and there is hope. We all believed her.
What might have impaired your perception of life? A deep disappointment? A shaming parent? A humiliating defeat? A great grief? A gradual abandonment? A woeful regret? ….
Imagine your self-imposed limits melting away through the lens of Jesus’ perfect love.
Seeing things anew through Jesus’ eyes can change any of us like that—in an instant.
There’s almost no limit to how much we can change when our eyes are opened.
I think of the depressed disciples moping down the dusty road to Emmaus on the first Easter, unaware of the miracle of the empty tomb. When the risen Messiah mysteriously appeared alongside them, the oblivious disciples “stood still, looking sad” (Luke 24:17) because “their eyes were kept from recognizing him” (v. 16). But after a Bible study and a meal with Jesus, “their eyes were opened” (v. 31), and everything changed in an instant. When they realized that the Lord wasn’t dead in a grave but alive in their midst, their depression evaporated in a flash. Joy rushed into their hearts, and they sprinted to tell others what they’d seen.
Seeing things anew through Jesus’ eyes can change any of us like that—in an instant.
And because revelation is a gift from Jesus, it changes us effortlessly. It’s grace at work when we see as Jesus sees.
When we vacation at the beach, my wife likes to start unpacking immediately, but I like to throw off my shoes, dig my toes into the dunes, and greet the surf as if embracing an old friend.
A few years ago, we arrived at the beach at sunset, and the horizon over the western end of Ocean Isle was on fire with red streaks and orange swirls that turned the sand to gold and made the sea glow amber. I stood there for a moment, my breath taken, cheering God’s handiwork.
“Behold what I behold,” Jesus says. “Look through My eyes. See what’s real, what’s important, what’s beautiful . . . and discover joy in the vision.”
Then, urgently, I sprinted inside and beckoned my beloved.
“Anne, you have to see this sunset! It’s glorious!”
“OK,” she said. “I’ll be there in a little while. Let me unload these groceries.”
“All right, but come quick,” I yelled as I dashed out the back door to watch God’s fireworks from the deck.
She didn’t come. Rushing back inside, I cried louder, “Anne, sweetie, come now—sunsets don’t last. You’ll regret missing this one. The milk and eggs and suitcases can wait. Please, honey, come. PLEASE!”
My pleading worked.
Soon, I was holding hands with wonder-full Anne in the dunes and staring at the sky as the sea oats danced and the palm trees clapped in appreciation of God’s artistry. And I was happier because the one I love was seeing the wonder with me.
I think Jesus invites us into discipleship the way I invited my wife into the sunset. “
“Come and you will see,” He says (John 1:39).
Can you feel the Savior’s excitement? He has beauty to share!
“Behold what I behold,” Jesus says.
“Look through My eyes. See what’s real, what’s important, what’s beautiful . . . and discover joy in the vision. Take My hand.
Let Me show you what you’ve been missing.”
Alan Wright is the lead pastor of Reynolda Church in North Carolina, a 110-year-old Presbyterian congregation vibrantly renewed and meeting in four cities, a seven-time author, including The Power to Bless, he hosts a daily thirty-minute radio program that airs nationally on four hundred stations. Pastor Alan is known for empowering people to see their lives in a whole new light through a gospel message of pure grace.
Instead of pain we can see purpose. Instead of opposition, opportunity. Instead of fear, freedom.
Thankfully, Spirit-filled sight isn’t reserved for the spiritually elite. It’s available to all of us through a simple, intimate prayer: “Jesus, how do you see this?” When you see as Jesus sees, you’ll be empowered to
· discover the wonder and beauty you’ve been missing
· clear away needless frustrations and misunderstandings
· take the limits off your life
· see others with genuine compassion and faith
· have hope again for the world through Christ’s victory over sin and death
If you long to live with greater joy, victory, and wonder, let pastor Alan Wright lead you through the Scriptures to the Savior’s side to see everything from his perspective. You’re going to love the view! Visit pastoralan.org for more resources and to subscribe to his Daily Blessing.
[ Our humble thanks to Baker Books for their partnership in today’s devotional. ]
