Victim or Victor - Turning Our Eyes Back To The Lord

By Beverly Hill McKinney

How often do I ask the Lord to bless my life, protect me or perform a miracle and then am surprised when he does?

Do I really trust him? Do I approach his throne with confidence that he will hear and answer my prayer?

In the Bible, there are instances where Christ is asked to perform miracles and then the people are surprised when it happens.

Look in John’s gospel where Christ was preaching and the day grew late. The people were hungry and the disciples wanted Jesus to do something. Jesus asked how much bread was there. Philip answered not enough for this great crowd. Then Andrew mentioned a boy with a small lunch. Did he really expect Jesus to perform a miracle? Notice he said when mentioning the two small fishes and five barley loaves, “but what are they among so many?” Even the disciplines doubted when looking at circumstances.

In Matthew the disciples go into a ship with Jesus. A storm begins and they are frightened. They come to him and ask for his help. When he calms the storm, they are astonished and say, “What manner of man is this, that even the winds and waves obey him.” They asked, but didn’t really expect a miracle.

Remember when Lazarus died and Jesus came four days later to his home. Martha is crushed by sorrow and says to him that her brother would not have died if Jesus had been there. She doesn’t see or expect the miracle that Jesus has in store for her.

We also see Peter in Matthew 14 where he sees Jesus walking on the water. Jesus bids him come and Peter walks toward him on the water. But what happened? It says when he saw the wind and waves, he was afraid and began to sink. His problem, like those other individuals in the Bible, was they took their eyes off Jesus. They looked at circumstances and forgot His promises to them.

I remember times in my own life where I took my eyes off of the Lord. When we had first begun in the ministry and were far away from family with little daily provisions. I cried to the Lord, and like the children of Israel, asked if he had brought us to this place then forgotten us? I knew the Lord could provide but my eyes were looking at circumstances instead of being on Him.

Once again when I had medical tests and the Lord had assured me he would be with me. Even after His assurance, I felt fearful until He reminded me through a sermon the following Sunday that he knew what I was going through and would be with me.

When we lost one of our grandsons shortly after birth and grief seemed to overwhelm me it seemed so difficult to keep my eyes on Jesus. I began to look at others and ask the Lord “why.” . I had to make the conscious effort to once again focus on the Lord and his promises to me.

When we think of these stories from the Bible and even in our own lives, we often feel defeated and like victims. It is at those times when we take our eyes off the Lord and look instead at circumstances, that we become overwhelmed.

In Hebrews 13:5 the Lord tells us “…I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee.” The Lord has given this promise to all his children. When we are surrounded by circumstances or difficulties, it is important to remember to keep our eyes on Jesus and remind ourselves again that he will never leave us or forsake us. We do this by asking the Lord to reveal his promises daily through the Word and cling to those promises in the face of trials.

At that moment, we move from being a victim to a victor.

Beverly Hill McKinney writes from Rogue River, Oregon. bmckinnehill@yahoo.com

Editor Chad's Comment:
We all have the choice each day of being or acting the victim or the victor in life. There is no doubt that from reading what Jesus had to say that He wants us to live victoriously and live abundantly. The choice is ours...as Beverly points out.