God-ward Gaze

One of my favorite passages is Psalm 34. As I read it the other day, I was struck by how the author's perspective is completely transformed when he looks at the Lord. Throughout the book of Psalms, a common theme is looking to the Lord in both good times and bad. When the Psalmist is rejoicing and safe, he sings praise. When he's in trouble, he cries out to the Lord. Over and over, God protects and delivers from trouble. This in itself is amazing! But the work of God doesn't stop there. Beyond just keeping us safe, the Father uses these troubles to get us to look to Him. Psalm 34:5 says that the ones who look to the Lord are themselves altered. God is so gloriously good that we become radiant just by gazing in His direction, and our whole countenance changes to reflect Him.

Further on in the Psalm, we are encouraged to "taste and see that the Lord is good" (verse 8). So many things that we taste and see day to day are good. Fresh morning sunshine, the warm aroma of brewed coffee, the love of family, a breathtaking sunset, a fun roadtrip, and the luxurious taste of rich chocolate all bring us delight (particularly chocolate!). And yet all these lovely things in life are like the yellow brick road leading to the very source of all this beauty: God Himself.  It brings us real and good joy to be near the Lord... just enjoying Him is refreshing.

In his book Eyes Wide Open, Pastor Steve DeWitt wrote: "Every created beauty was created by God to lead our affections to Him... We enjoy the divine music of beauty, but our enjoyment often stops there. The greatest wonder is not the music itself but the Musician, not the creation but the Creator. He is beautiful." All the beautiful things that bring us pleasure are just a hint of the overwhelming beauty of the Father.

C.S. Lewis said: “It would seem that Our Lord finds our desires not too strong, but too weak. We are half-hearted creatures, fooling about with drink and sex and ambition when infinite joy is offered us, like an ignorant child who wants to go on making mud pies in a slum because he cannot imagine what is meant by the offer of a holiday at the sea. We are far too easily pleased.”

The Psalmist tells us to "taste and see that the Lord is good" because He is beautiful, and we get to delight in that beauty! Just by turning to him, we are changed. "Those who look to him are radiant." God's beauty is lasting and satisfying, beyond the things in life that bring us pleasure. Surely this is reason to enough to join with the Psalmist and "glory in the Lord" and "exalt his name together."

Psalm 34

1 I will extol the Lord at all times;

 his praise will always be on my lips.

2 I will glory in the Lord;

 let the afflicted hear and rejoice.

3 Glorify the Lord with me;

 let us exalt his name together.

4 I sought the Lord, and he answered me;

 he delivered me from all my fears.

5 Those who look to him are radiant;

 their faces are never covered with shame.

6 This poor man called, and the Lord heard him;

 he saved him out of all his troubles.

7 The angel of the Lord encamps around those who fear him,

 and he delivers them.

8 Taste and see that the Lord is good;

 blessed is the one who takes refuge in him.

9 Fear the Lord, you his holy people,

 for those who fear him lack nothing.

10 The lions may grow weak and hungry,

 but those who seek the Lord lack no good thing.

11 Come, my children, listen to me;

 I will teach you the fear of the Lord.

12 Whoever of you loves life

 and desires to see many good days,

13 keep your tongue from evil

 and your lips from telling lies.

14 Turn from evil and do good;

 seek peace and pursue it.

15 The eyes of the Lord are on the righteous,

 and his ears are attentive to their cry;

16 but the face of the Lord is against those who do evil,

 to blot out their name from the earth.

17 The righteous cry out, and the Lord hears them;

 he delivers them from all their troubles.

18 The Lord is close to the brokenhearted

 and saves those who are crushed in spirit.

19 The righteous person may have many troubles,

 but the Lord delivers him from them all;

20 he protects all his bones,

 not one of them will be broken.

21 Evil will slay the wicked;

 the foes of the righteous will be condemned.

22 The Lord will rescue his servants;

 no one who takes refuge in him will be condemned.

Lost Luggage

The flight from Nashville to Chicago is a mere 1-hour and 20-minute jaunt. Basically, the plane reaches its altitude, the flight attendants pass out peanuts and serve tiny beverages, and then the descent starts. Voilà! Flight over, destination reached.

Well, the trip home for spring break was not so idyllic. Far from being a direct flight, I switched planes in Ohio and had a layover. When I booked the trip, I knew it wasn't a nonstop. But it was less expensive than the other flights. (Now I know why.) So what could have been traversed in 2 hours became an expedition lasting 7 hours.

Anyway, when I reached Midway in Chicago, my luggage did not get off the plane safely like I did. In fact, it never came at all. Apparently, when I walked through the airport to get on the next plane, my suitcase did not follow my lead. It went over to Los Angeles instead. I headed home from the airport, my luggage on the other side of the nation.

Of course, this made me a tad bit stressed. The idea of getting ready for church without anything but the jeans and T-shirt I was wearing bothered me. Knowing I would be leaving the house on Sunday morning without an ounce of makeup was slightly less than comforting.

At 1 in the morning that night, I got a call from the airport saying my bag had arrived, and they would deliver it to the house. At 4 in the morning, I got a call that the delivery guy was at my house with my luggage. I woke up my brother (so I wouldn't have to answer the door at 4 in the morning by myself) and the delivery man saw a shocking manifestation of the word bedhead.

Once the delivery man left, my brother and I had a great conversation, since we both happened to be awake. And the next morning (or rather, that morning), I had my luggage all restored to me.

The moral of the story is: patience. Honestly, patience was a theme through my week of break. When the great question marks of life loom overhead, I don't want to wait on God. Questions like: Where will we live? What will I do? How will God provide? all seem too big to be entrusted to anyone... even the Lord. I tend to get restless, and want to know a detailed 5-year plan with a to-do list each step of the way. But a lot of times, God calls us to wait on Him. In the end, He has all the details planned out perfectly. I would have missed a meaningful conversation and the memory of an adventure if my luggage popped out with everyone else's upon arrival. God uses little things to teach big life lessons. Over spring break, He used lost luggage and a 4 a.m. delivery to teach me a little more about the importance of waiting for His timing.