My Only Viewpoint

May 21, 2020

Psalm 62:9-10

Surely the lowborn are but a breath,
the highborn are but a lie.
If weighed on a balance, they are nothing;
together they are only a breath.
Do not trust in extortion
or put vain hope in stolen goods;
though your riches increase,
do not set your heart on them.

1 John 2:15-17

Do not love the world or anything in the world. If anyone loves the world, love for the Father is not in them. For everything in the world—the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life—comes not from the Father but from the world. The world and its desires pass away, but whoever does the will of God lives forever.

Devotion

In verses nine and ten, David declares an “only” warning: Men, schemes, riches—these are only air. In the bigger scheme of things, they are of no substance or value. So often we put our trust in other people. David found out that placing your ultimate trust in people of influence didn’t work out too well. Sometimes we rely on the wisdom of man only to be disappointed. Then there are times we rely on our own strategies, only to discover we’re not as clever as we thought we were. Like David, we need to realize that it is God who holds the cards on our destiny. We need to remind ourselves of the only source of ultimate truth. Jesus said, “I am the way, the truth, and the life!”

One of my favorite old hymns, Turn Your Eyes Upon Jesus, was written by Helen Lemmel. The inspiration for this song was a tract given to Lemmel by a missionary friend. The chorus goes like this: “Turn your eyes upon Jesus. Look full in His wonderful face. And the things of earth will grow strangely dim, in the light of His glory and grace.” When we look at our world and all its problems in light of eternity, then the things of earth grow strangely dim. In Psalm 20:7, David writes, “Some trust chariots, others in horses, I trust in the Lord my God.”

Questions to Ponder:

Are you able to live your life with eternity in view? Do you put your trust in things and people that can’t deliver? Do you value temporal things more than eternal things? Are you relying on God during this COVID-19 pandemic?

Prayer Points

  • Pray for all those struggling with health issues (hospitals, COVID, nursing homes, etc). Pray they will know His Comfort, Enabling help and trust in His plan for their life.
  • Ask God to grant You His eyes to see things from heaven’s perspective.

Suggested Prayer
God, You are faithful, kind, generous, wise, consistent and loving. I thank You LORD that this life is not the end of the story. I thank You LORD that compared to all of eternity, Your Word actually tells us these light and momentary afflictions are nothing. So I ask that You enable us by Your Holy Spirit to fix our eyes on things above. Help us to set You LORD ever before us. Help us to know that we can come to You and ask for help, guidance, wisdom, healing, hope, rest, refreshment, encouragement. Lord, we also ask that You help us to see life through the lens of eternity. We don’t want to get caught up in the here and now but want to see things through Your eyes. You have everything we need LORD, so even now we come with great expectation that You will minister to us. LORD, we also ask that as we trust You moment to moment You would glorify Your Son in and through all our lives. In the Name of Jesus Christ, I ask. Amen.