I have discovered that frequently I need to gaze in a new direction in life … a spiritual direction … gazing at the eternal. Oh, this is such an important spiritual lesson for me … for all of us.
Sometimes, we are just so convinced that nothing is happening, so, in frustration, we ask, "Where is God? What is He doing?" I know this from personal experience because I have relived this scenario so often in my life.
This lesson was brought home to me on a myPhotoWalk Photo Shoot I had the privilege to experience with Bill Fortney, a photography legend, and beloved pastor and author, Dr. Charles Stanley, an accomplished photographer in his own right. I remember one clear cold night set up outside with these professional photographers at a beautiful lake in Glacier National Park, Montana, USA, waiting for the glow of the sunset. We waited and waited and waited. All of us had our cameras mounted on tripods hoping for that beautiful pink glow. I'm here to tell you that it never happened. Once we realized it was not going to happen, we turned around 180 degrees to return to our cars. And then we saw it! And what we saw took our breath away. The spectacular glow was in the opposite direction! And there was one lone photographer who caught it all with his camera. He had turned his camera the other way gazing in the direction of the real beauty!
This same scenario happened to me on a recent sunset myPhotoWalk Photo Shoot near my home in Palm Desert, CA. I was looking to the West – and there was not much happening with the sunset. But then, remembering the Montana photo shoot, I decided to walk out to a place where I could gaze in the opposite direction. There it was! A beautiful hazy pink moonrise against the silhouette of the palm trees and the mountains — just an amazing sunset overall. I paused to worship the Lord. And say thank You once again for showing me that sometimes His answers and His move in our lives come from an unexpected direction.
Here's the lesson — learn to interpret God by His Word not by your feelings — and look at His promises even when circumstances seem to command your attention.
Paul shows us how to gaze at the eternal in God's Word —
So we don't look at the troubles we can see now; rather, we fix our gaze on things that cannot be seen. For the things we see now will soon be gone, but the things we cannot see will last forever.
2 Corinthians 4:18 NLT
So once I saw post–processed this image on my computer, I knew I wanted to create a myPhotoWalk Photo Artistry image, highlighting with the words, "Gazing At The Eternal," to remind me always to look in God's direction at the eternal and invisible. I processed this image in Alien Skin Exposure X3 then I added a Topaz Adjust filter to bring out the dynamic range and full color contained in the raw photo. Then I added a Topaz Impression Painting filter to smooth out the lines and colors in the background and provide a flat canvas for the text. Finally, I added large Helvetica Neue text of "Gazing At The Eternal" and the words of the verse.
So dear friend, no matter what you go through in life, when you find yourself overwhelmed by your circumstances, remember to look in another direction and gaze at the eternal.
Lord, today we pray that you will show us how to gaze at the eternal in Your Word. Help us to live every day by the eternal perspective. In Jesus' name, Amen.
Blessings ♡ Grace
