Good Morning! - 2010.09.03 - 2Chronicles 20:12 - Our Eyes are Upon Thee

O our God, wilt thou not judge them? for we have no might against this great company that cometh against us; neither know we what to do: but our eyes are upon thee. (2Chronicles 20:12)

Lest we forget, we did not know the outcome of the attack on Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941. I remember that Sunday; unseasonably warm at Medlock. Our government assumed that an imminent attack on our west coast of California might be part of the plan. We were not prepared.

Our immediate plunge into war with NAZI Germany came within days. We knew what they were doing to England, France, and Poland. We were caught unprepared and for a while we were at the mercy of our enemies. That day is an example of a nation in the position of our text for today.

A great host of individuals are in that circumstance every day. As we drive through the streets and see people milling about in "normal" living, we cannot see how many people are struggling with sickness or death or hunger and overwhelming poverty. How many families are overwhelmed by a wayward child who has chosen drugs and deviant lifestyle?

I have lived in the world of "other people" for 57 years and know first-hand that people make one of two choices when they are overwhelmed. Either they focus on "we have no might against this great company that cometh against us" and surrender to despair, alcohol and drugs or suicide—or else they retreat to the presence of the living God and cry from their hearts: "our eyes are upon thee!"

Since I got saved October, 1943 I have been urging everyone I could to turn their eyes upon Jesus. When I began telling the boys in my fourth grade class about getting saved in the bean market, I was surprised that it upset them and caused them to gang up on me. I was not prepared for their mockery.

I suppose most of their resistance was against my disposition and not my position. I was a trumpet in their ear and they saw no reason to be disturbed about God. And so it is that men today will most often have no use for God until they are hurting or overwhelmed with something in their lives. I'm still looking for open doors in the hearts of men but have learned that patient waiting for their "Pearl Harbor" is the better part of wisdom. I've worked a good bit on my disposition but my position has not changed and it will not change.

That's why I say to everybody I meet: "How's your day?" I love to tell them that this is a special day like no other and that God just shipped it in. It won't be here but a few hours and then it will be gone forever. The response to "How's your day?" is very important to me. Sometimes I sense something and will say, "OK…how IS your day…REALLY?" It's surprising how many times that question will bring tears to the eyes and down the cheeks or cause someone to tremble. You see, we've learned that we have to make it through the day and it's easier if we put on a happy smile and a cheery "Fine! Just fine!" speech.

But sometimes you can look past theatrical smiles and see behind the mask. "Have you prayed about it?" Or, "would you like for me to pray with you about it?" It's OK at Walmart to pull your cart over against the paint shelves and bow your head. Nobody will bother you. The Walmart Chapel is a good place to help someone lift their eyes to the Lord for their burdens. You don't have to make a scene. It's amazing how much good can be done with a quiet voice while people scoot by you looking for parsley.

If I get tired and sit down on a bench, I don't waste time wondering who I'm sitting beside. "How's your day?" Would you believe that I have never made anyone mad by asking them "How's your day?" People love to talk about themselves, to look at themselves in a mirror, or look for themselves in a group picture. I do! Don't you? So that's why I love to ask people "How's your day?" And I just love to tell them that God just made this day fresh this morning and shipped it in. But sometime, our last day will be shipped in, then what?

Do you know the song: Turn Your Eyes Upon Jesus? It 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." It has verses too but that's the popular chorus. It's in the key of F but I sing it in E-flat. Ω