Reading this morning in Oswald Chambers*, I came across this verse at the bottom of his devotional for April 2:
Since mine eyes have looked on Jesus,
I've lost sight of all beside,
So enchained my spirit's vision,
Gazing at the crucified.
Several years ago, when I was struggling with a very old source of shame, I read this passage in the letter to the Hebrews:
Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us. Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. Consider him who endured such opposition from sinful men, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart. (vv. 1-3)
I had read that passage many times before, but that morning, the Holy Spirit fine-tuned my understanding. I focused completely on the few words that I underlined, above, as the answer I needed for dealing with an old shame: I turned my heart and my mind--"fixed my eyes," as it were--on Jesus; shame is much too heavy a burden for me to carry, and when the sin** that brought it on is forgiven, shame loses its purpose.
Since that morning, whenever an old sin, an old habit, an old hang-up--call it what you want--captures my attention, I remember to look to Jesus. Sometimes, it takes me a while to remember, but when I do, I experience the freedom from enslavement that He offers us.
I needed Chambers' verse, this morning, to remind me to get my eyes back on Jesus and off of the concerns that have distracted me for several days. Some situations are just more than I can handle. Remember the Serenity Prayer?
God, grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change,
the courage to change the things I can, and
the wisdom to know the difference!
* * *
*My Utmost for His Highest," c. 1992, Oswald Chambers Publications Association, Ltd. Original edition c.1935, Dodd, Mead & Company, Inc. Copyright renewed 1963 by OCPA, Ltd.
**I recognize that shame comes both from our own sins, and from the sins of others against us that cause us to feel unworthy, inadequate, ashamed of who we are. I am not dealing, here, with the shame from those sources; however, I have come to believe that we see ourselves best, when we begin to see ourselves as God sees us--as His much-loved children, for whom He died and rose again, and whom He has gifted in various ways to serve Him by serving others for His purposes.
