Looking can lead to blessings too! The Isrealites looked to Moses and the bronze serpent in the wilderness and were healed from their sickness. The Prophets looked to God and were granted visions of great things to come. Jesus set his face toward Jerusalem and would not be deterred from his mission to give his life away and bring salvation to our hurting world. The Apostle Paul didn’t see obstacles, he saw opportunities to share his faith in the midst of a shipwreck, when he was thrown in jail, and in numerous other trials he faced.

Eating, speaking, thinking, looking: You are what you eat, you speak what you hear, you think what you are told, you reflect what you look at. Face it, we spend a lot of time in our lives doing the things of the world, enjoying life, laughing, partying, studying, working, talking, sleeping. Do you know people who hang out together so much that they all begin to talk and act exactly the same. Scarey! How much time do you spend watching TV, going to movies, watching sports, playing sports, playing video games, studying, working, etc? Be careful, because it’s inevitable, you’ll become what you do, what you think, what you see, what you let your mind absorb. Workaholics can become so absorbed with work that they can’t stop talking and thinking about work and business on the weekends or even on a vacation!

Think for a minute of our entertainment culture. It’s easy to get hooked and peer in mesmerized by all the movies, the flashy celebrities, the funky music. We are so glued to the screen we can’t pull ourselves away! We immerse ourselves in it morning, noon, and night until there’s no room left for the Spirit of God to work, he’s lost our attention! We’ve become so polluted, our ears are deaf, our eyes are tired, our bellies are full, our bodies are exhausted - and we don’t hear the still, small voice of God. Our minds are racing but not about God, they’re churning with our own desires, our own homemade idols, and our self-centered thoughts and dreams. We think we’re awake and alive, but we are spiritually dead, and ultimately we fail to recognize the hour of God’s coming.

Daniel, the great seeker of God, repeats over and over again in Daniel 7, "I kept looking.....I kept looking.....I kept looking.....I kept looking..." Daniel could have rolled over and gone back to sleep, he could have shuffled out to the kitchen for a midnight snack, he could have snuck back to the palace to do some more administrative work for the king, but no, Daniel kept looking! He kept seeking the revelations of God, kept looking for the greater truth and meaning in it all. He kept pursuing, kept seeking, kept looking in the night visions! I can’t help feeling called to do that, to keep looking for the vision, instead of doing all these things I do, instead of pursuing so many worldly activities. Do you sense the call of God? - to shut the door, to shut the cares of the world outside, to find a quiet, lonely place, to stay up late and keep seeking the vision until it is made crystal clear! May you open your heart to the still small voice of God speaking softly to you. May you keep looking, keep pursuing, keep seeking the vision!   Keep looking!

Questions for Personal Reflection:

What do I spend my time looking at each day?
What am I really looking for? What am I seeking deep down inside?
When am I most spiritually focused? What sharpens my spiritual vision?
How can I strengthen my spiritual sight?