Tuesday, August 30, 2011

Eye-2-I AM Contact


Eye-2-I AM Contact

Today I am distracted and I must ask Jesus to teach me how to stay focused on one thing at a time.  The most frustrating thing about distraction is the draining of mental, emotional and physical energy, just as air leaks slowly from a tire and over time becomes useless.  That is why Christ, hours before his arrest, commanded his disciples to "be on your guard, watch, give strict attention, be cautious and alert" (Mark 13: 33 and 35, amp.).  

There are levels of distraction that translate to spiritual focus.  The ordinary woman is distracted simply because she is alive on this side of eternity.  She suffers from human nature.  She is distracted because she is normal!  And this can happen without anyone else involved.  Another level of distraction happens because we are in relationship with others.  This distraction comes because we care: a mother for her child, a medical professional for her patient, an administrator making a decision that affects hundreds of people.  It would be unnatural NOT to be distracted by the existence of others.  A third kind of distraction includes the second one but goes beyond -- it is the distraction of the call -- this is the kind of distraction Jesus experienced on this earth.

Jesus didn't get distracted by human or Divine nature, he emptied himself and took on the guise of a servant (Philippians 2).  Yet, even in that position, Christ still boldly approached his Father in heaven for what he specifically needed. Like Nehemiah the cupbearer, who stayed focused on rebuilding the wall (Nehemiah 1:11), he needed eye to eye contact with the King.  That is why as a woman in leadership, I must pause in the middle of what I am about to do, position myself before my King and give him my full attention -- turning my most pressing need into a purpose.  I must not deny myself the discipline of eye to I AM contact, for that would be the denial of undivided attention.  I must cooperate with the discipline of eye contact with my King  as mental and emotional anguish come from not knowing the Holy Spirit's leading.  Jesus' eyes are on the Father's and so must mine be.  But I cannot maintain eye contact alone.  I can only do it through Christ who gives me access to what he so boldly initiated.

" . . . As the eyes of a maid look to the hand of her mistress, so our eyes look to the Lord our God, till he shows us his mercy."  Psalm 123:2b