What Are You Looking At?

Book recommendation: God Is With You Every Day by Max Lucado

It is very windy today. There’s a wind advisory in the location where I live. Things are blowing around outside, all over the neighbor’s lawn and cul de sac. Leaves are everywhere.

This all started last night and it was making a lot of noise at our house where my son’s bedroom is. My son has a lot of sensory issues so he’s not a fan of loud noises. My son screamed every time the wind blew, waking up and saying “I want up! I want up!” Needless to say, last night, he did not sleep really well and therefore neither did my husband or me.

My husband had gone into his room during the night and calmed him down. About six something in the morning I heard him screaming again so I decided to go and get into his bed with him (not my usual M.O. but hey, I had to be up in 45 minutes and it seemed like a good plan at the time).

I grabbed my pillows and went into his room and he is in there FACING the window opening the blinds with his fingers and looking out screaming uncontrollably.

Sir?!!

So I said “Zion, what are you doing? Turn around, stop looking out the window. What are you looking at? What are you doing?”

I then climb into his bed with him and close the window, pick him up, and turn him entirely around. He puts his head next to mine, I cover him with a blanket, put my arm over him and he goes to sleep and never woke up again.

While I was lying there trying to go back to sleep I hear the Holy
Spirit ask me, “What are you looking at?

He said, just like Zion when there is trouble, noise, and things that scare or distract you, things that seem like they’re going to bring you harm, even though you’re in a protected space, why are you staring at it? Why are you contemplating it? Why are you focused on it? Why focus on something that’s not going to touch you?

We have a finite amount of time. What are you spending that time looking at? Are you focused on something that is of no consequence? Our thoughts are not like God’s thoughts, his thoughts are higher. When we feel like we’re in danger when we feel like we have to control the outcome when we feel like there’s a threat coming our way are we like my son looking out of the window at wind that can’t harm him when he could have easily just turned around and gone to sleep because his mother and father were there the entire time?

What are you looking at? Are you really in danger? Is God right there? Does it seem in your finite small thought process that it’s going to overtake you? Is it really though? Is the big, big God who created everything that you see around you, the God of the Bible, who has a finished work of the Cross going to allow it to overtake you? Did he not come through the last time? Stop looking out the window. He has proved himself over and over and over and over It’s time for you to rest during the storm.

I picked Zion up, he turned around, he put his head down. I put my arm over him, which is how God is with us, and he went to sleep. And you know what? The wind did not stop? It was still beating up against the house making noise, but his focus had changed and his understanding of who I am to him calmed him done and he was able to rest.

Be intentionally focused on the things that remind you of the God that you say you believe in who he is, and stop looking at stuff that ain’t even trying to come for you anyway. It’s not going to work so don’t focus on it. So what are you looking at it for? Why you focused on it?

≿ · ────── · ❈ · ────── · ≾