To See Thee More Clearly
As I shared in an earlier blog, my prayer for 2019 is expressed simply in this song:
Day by day, dear Lord of Thee
Three things I pray:
To see Thee more clearly,
To love Thee more dearly,
To follow Thee more nearly,
Day by day.
I will try to expound on what these three phrases mean to me in three different blogs. The first is –
To see Thee more clearly:
It is one thing to look and another thing to see.
To look: to turn one’s eyes toward something or in some direction in order to see.
To see: to discern or deduce after reflection or from information; understand.
From the definition above, the whole goal of looking is to see. Sadly, a lot of us look without really seeing. We look at brethren when we gather at church but don’t always see the pain, fear, loneliness or sadness in their eyes that should propel us to reach out to them. We also can look at God’s word (read the bible) which should have as its goal to see Jesus and yet not see Jesus – not grow in our knowledge and understanding of Him. Too many of us look at God’s word with the goal of laying hold of some verses we can use to demand something from God. Yes, we have exceeding great promises that we can stand on but that is not why I will read my bible this year and in years to come.
Jesus said,
“You search the Scriptures because you think they give you eternal life. But the Scriptures point to me!”
(John 5:39 NLT)
This year, I don’t want to read the bible out of religious duty but my desire is that each time I read it, I see Jesus. That way, the more I look into it, the more I reflect Him. Jesus is the express image of the Father so the more I get to know Him, the more I know the Father, too.
To see the Lord more clearly, in my view, is to know Him better and therefore see Him as He really is. It is to go beyond what or who men say He is and to discover for ourselves (through the written word and experientially) who He really is.
“What is more, I consider everything a loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whose sake I have lost all thing …… I want to know Christ—yes, to know the power of his resurrection and participation in his sufferings, becoming like him in his death…”
(Philippians 3:8-10 NIV)
Paul prayed for the Ephesian brethren in this manner,
“…. And may you, having been [deeply] rooted and [securely] grounded in love, be fully capable of comprehending with all the saints (God’s people) the width and length and height and depth of His love [fully experiencing that amazing, endless love]; and [that you may come] to know [practically, through personal experience] the love of Christ which far surpasses [mere] knowledge [without experience], that you may be filled up [throughout your being] to all the fullness of God [so that you may have the richest experience of God’s presence in your lives, completely filled and flooded with God Himself].”
(Ephesians 3:17-19 AMP)
I don’t just want to know facts and figures about Jesus in my head, I want to know deep in my heart and experience the reality of the facts and figures. I don’t just want to look at Jesus, I want to see Him….more clearly.
I realize that our eyes are opened up by the Lord Himself and we are granted revelations of Him as we look into His word of truth. This is why it is a prayer for Him to reveal Himself to me through His word and in my daily experiences; that He would open my eyes to see Him. I’m not interested in religion; I want a real, dynamic relationship with my Lord and Saviour. So this year, I am making it a priority to seek to see Him more clearly.
Are you satisfied with your walk with God?
Is it about a living relationship or religious activities?
Do you know about Him from your pastor’s sermons or do you know Him personally from relating with Him?
I hope these questions challenge you as they do me, spurring you to desire to know Jesus more.
Let’s see Him more clearly this year.