When I feel stressed or sad, I often find myself at the piano, playing from a book of hymn arrangements that are just perfect for someone who hasn’t had a piano lesson in decades. One of my favorite arrangements in the book is “Turn Your Eyes Upon Jesus.” I love the hymn, but as the words ran through my head the other day, I thought, What good does it actually do to turn my eyes upon Jesus? I can’t see His face. I don’t even know what He looks like. How can there be real comfort here? I’ve been contemplating these questions ever since.
In this month’s return of No Matter What Monday devotionals (thanks for allowing me a summer break, y’all!), we are going to look in depth at the concept of turning our eyes upon Jesus. We’ll make our way through the chorus of the hymn, looking at various Scripture as we go. If you’d like to listen to the song, one of my favorite arrangements is by Lauren Daigle – you can find it here (YouTube) or here (Spotify).
As you may have guessed even if you don’t know the hymn, the chorus begins, “Turn your eyes upon Jesus.” Turning to Jesus means acknowledging that He is the one to save us from the power of sin and sustain us through any struggle we face.
“So Jesus said to the twelve, ‘Do you want to go away as well?’ Simon Peter answered him, ‘Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life, and we have believed, and have come to know, that you are the Holy One of God.’” (John 6:67-69)
Only Jesus is the Holy One of God. Only Jesus died for my sin and rose again. Only Jesus is the Word, the Truth, and the Life. Why would I turn to other things in my moments of stress or grief? How could a sweet treat, mind-numbing entertainment, or a Target run ever compare to my Savior? And yet, I often look to these counterfeit saviors for comfort and wonder why I still feel empty.
Let’s turn our eyes to Jesus together, friends. He is so much better than anything else we look to for comfort and peace.
No matter what you face this week, turn your eyes upon Jesus.
[…] here to read the first devotional in this […]