What do you see when you look around? In Psalm 73, the psalmist described seeing some things that greatly disturbed him. He saw that many people around him appeared to be getting away with much that was not right. The psalmist was discouraged, and even felt a twinge of envy.
What about you? What do you see when you look around? How do you maintain faith, and continue to do what is right, when what you see around you can appear discouraging and overwhelming?
Many of the prophets of old lived during very difficult times. Isaiah saw northern Israel go into Assyrian captivity, and later saw the Assyrians invade his own nation of Judah. Jeremiah saw Judah suffer successive invasions from Babylon, then finally go completely into captivity. Ezekiel the priest actually went into captivity, then a decade later received word that the magnificent temple in Jerusalem had been utterly destroyed. Very little during the lives of these servants of God would have indicated a bright and promising future for God’s people. Yet when you read the books that these men wrote, it is clear that they saw things that their contemporaries could not see. They saw and described events that others, looking at what was going on in their world, would have considered impossible.
Do you see despair, or hope? Until her encounter with Jesus, a young woman who was labeled a “sinner” had no hope that the promises of the Kingdom of God could apply to her. Then something happened that changed her life. What did she suddenly see?
What you see makes all the difference in the world. It can produce discouragement or faith. It can result in either despair or hope. When you look around, and look to the future, what do you see?
Looking Around Us
Have you ever thought that many in our world seem to be “getting away” with what they should not? In Psalm 73:2–3, the psalmist made quite a confession: “But as for me, my feet came close to stumbling; my steps had almost slipped. For I was envious of the arrogant, as I saw the prosperity of the wicked” (NAS). He went on to observe: “They are not in trouble as other men; nor are they plagued like mankind” (v. 5). How unfair it seemed. Notice his thoughts: “Behold, these are the wicked; and always at ease, they have increased in wealth. Surely in vain I have kept my heart pure, and washed my hands in innocence; for I have been stricken all day long, and chastened every morning” (vv. 12–14).
If this is how life works, it appears most unfair. If this were all you could see, it would hardly seem worth the effort to try. However, the psalmist went on to write: “When I pondered to understand this, it was troublesome in my sight until I came into the sanctuary of God; then I perceived their end” (vv. 16–17). It was while meditating in God’s temple that the psalmist began to realize how shortsighted he had been—and this realization changed his whole perspective.
If you are shortsighted, you will have a very distorted view of things. It is vital to have a long-range view. When all we can see is the present, we will come to some very faulty conclusions.
Esau’s example comes quickly to mind. One day, returning from a hunting trip, Esau came upon his brother Jacob cooking a big pot of savory stew. Tired and hungry, Esau asked his brother for something to eat. Jacob, always looking for a chance to wheel and deal, offered to share some soup if Esau would sell his birthright to him. Amazingly, Esau agreed. “And Jacob gave Esau bread and stew of lentils; then he ate and drank, arose, and went his way. Thus Esau despised his birthright” (Genesis 25:34). Esau was extremely shortsighted. Paul commented that Esau was a profane person—one who clearly had no sense of the sacred (Hebrews 12:16). All Esau could see was the need and comfort of the moment; he was willing to throw away his future in order to be gratified now!
How is it possible to see beyond the present moment? One of the primary ways is to use God’s Word to illuminate the path we are to travel. God’s Word, after all, is meant to be a lamp to our feet and a light to our path (Psalm 119:105). It can help us see beyond our present situation, and understand where the road we are on actually leads. Proverbs 2 exhorts us to value wisdom deeply. Real wisdom and understanding come only from God, and will show us “every good path” (v. 9). True wisdom is based upon God’s law. It will help us avoid the evil schemes and immoral proposals of carnal people around us. People who fall into unethical, illegal, and immoral behavior are very shortsighted. If we only see our present circumstances, we may become entangled in many destructive practices and situations. God’s Word gives us vision and perspective on life. It enables us to see where our choices will ultimately lead.
Seeing the Future
We all want to know what the future holds. But if we only base our future expectations on projections of present trends, the landscape can look awfully bleak. Today, as has always been the case, much of what goes on around us holds out little hope for the future. Even so, God often chose the most hopeless moments in ancient Israel’s history to give His prophets a vision of the future.
In the year that old King Uzziah of Judah died, a young man named Isaiah was shown a remarkable vision. He saw the glory of the God of Israel fill the Temple, and he was given a commission to declare God’s message (Isaiah 6). In the years that followed, Judah’s geopolitical position looked bleak. Assyrian power was on the rise, and Judah was threatened by Syria and Israel to the north. Judah’s moral and spiritual tone was every bit as discouraging, because religious services at the temple in Jerusalem were mostly an empty formality (Isaiah 1:11–15). There was corruption from top to bottom throughout society. Speaking of Jerusalem, the capital city of David’s kingly line and the location of Solomon’s temple, Isaiah wrote: “How the faithful city has become a harlot! It was full of justice; righteousness lodged in it, but now murderers” (Isaiah 1:21). All in all, it was a pretty bleak picture.
But it was in that context that Isaiah saw and wrote about the future! Notice Isaiah 2:1–3: “The word that Isaiah the son Amoz saw concerning Judah and Jerusalem. Now it shall come to pass in the latter days that the mountain of the Lord’s house shall be established on the top of the mountains, and shall be exalted above the hills; and all nations shall flow to it. Many people shall come and say, ‘Come, and let us go up to the mountain of the Lord, to the house of the God of Jacob; He will teach us His ways, and we shall walk in His paths.’ For out of Zion shall go forth the law, and the word of the Lord from Jerusalem.” What Isaiah saw ahead was far different from what his immediate circumstances would indicate. He saw the future through the lens of faith!
Jeremiah’s prophetic career began more than a century after Isaiah’s. Jeremiah warned his nation of impending Babylonian captivity, even while other religious leaders assured the people that God would certainly never allow such a thing. Notice Jeremiah 14:13–14: “Then I said, ‘Ah, Lord God! Behold, the prophets say to them, “You shall not see the sword, nor shall you have famine, but I will give you assured peace in this place.”’ And the Lord said to me, ‘The prophets prophesy lies in My name. I have not sent them, commanded them, nor spoken to them; they prophesy to you a false vision, divination, a worthless thing, and the deceit of their heart.’” These false prophets were very angry with Jeremiah because of his message, and actually wanted to have him killed (Jeremiah 26:11)! But Jeremiah refused to be intimidated, and continued to give the warning that God had shown him. He told his people that the only way to avert God’s impending wrath was to amend their ways, and begin to obey the Creator (v. 13).
Jeremiah saw impending judgment for his people, when others around him were denying that judgment would come. But he also saw beyond the judgment, to the good news of redemption and restoration. In Jeremiah 31:31, he described a time beyond the terrible calamity of Jacob’s trouble. “‘Behold, the days are coming,’ says the Lord, ‘when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah.’” Even as the world around him grew ever more dangerous, and the people grew less and less responsive, Jeremiah saw with faith the future opportunity his people would have—to re-enter a relationship with God and to receive His blessings.
Notice also the example of Ezekiel, a young priest who had gone into Babylonian captivity at the same time as King Jehoiachin. Most of Ezekiel’s prophetic message was actually for the House of Israel, which had gone into Assyrian captivity more than a century before he wrote. Nevertheless, Ezekiel recorded his message, and it has come down to us today. We can know what the future holds for the end-time descendants of Israel, if we are willing to examine and believe what Ezekiel saw.
Ezekiel was shown the future of Jerusalem, and described being transported in vision to the Temple (see Ezekiel 8–11), where he saw the glory of the God of Israel depart. He saw God’s glory—which had filled the House when it was dedicated in the days of King Solomon—rise up from the threshold of the Temple and move to the Mount of Olives, east of Jerusalem (Ezekiel 10:18–19; 11:22–23). This set the stage for Nebuchadnezzar’s destruction of the city, and of the Temple. However, Ezekiel saw more than removal, destruction and wrath! Ezekiel 43 was a vision of the distant future, when the God of Israel would return and enter a re-created Temple from the east (the direction of the Mount of Olives). God’s glory would fill this future House, and it would be the place of His throne when He would dwell in the midst of the children of Israel forever (vv. 3–7). In a time of destruction, captivity and despair, Ezekiel saw restoration and hope.
These prophets, and many others, looked beyond their day and recorded what they saw. They saw and proclaimed judgment while others around them were “making happy sounds” and entering into political alliances to protect themselves. These prophets saw beyond the judgment, and described the good news of God’s redemption of His people. Do you see what the prophets saw? Do you have the faith to look beyond the events of our present world, to see both impending judgment and the really good news that awaits us beyond that judgment?
Hope Rekindled
Jesus Christ was a widely sought-after dinner guest. Even many of His critics were intrigued by this teacher from Galilee, and sought opportunities to see and hear Him up close. Luke 7:36–50 describes one such occasion. Simon the Pharisee and some of his friends wanted to evaluate Jesus Christ. Those attending Simon’s dinner had undoubtedly seen Jesus, and heard His message on various occasions. They had all heard of the miracles He had performed, and most probably had direct knowledge of someone whom He had healed. Furthermore, they had all heard His message about the Kingdom of God, and how it was actually possible to inherit that Kingdom.
While Simon wanted a chance to observe and hear Jesus, and undoubtedly to question Him on certain points, he was not a disciple. In fact, though Jesus was his dinner guest, Simon preserved a certain distance and reserve. He had not, for instance, provided Jesus with water to wash His feet upon His arrival, nor had he given Him fragrant oil with which to anoint His head. In fact, he had even omitted the customary kiss of hospitality. Simon was willing to invite Jesus for dinner, but did not want his friends to get the idea that he was an admirer, much less a disciple, of this Galilean rabbi!
Shortly after all of the guests were seated for dinner, Simon and his friends were embarrassed and angered by an interruption that took them all by surprise. A woman who was known in the community as “a sinner” had heard where Jesus would be dining, and she had slipped into the room unobserved. Before anyone could stop her, she had knelt at Jesus’ feet. Breaking into tears, she began to pour an expensive container of perfumed oil on Jesus’ feet. While Simon and his guests watched in horrified astonishment, this sobbing woman kissed Jesus’ bare feet, and wiped them with her hair.
“Well that settles it,” thought Simon. “If that man were really a prophet, he would know what sort of woman this was, and certainly would never have permitted her to touch him.” Jesus, of course, knew what Simon and his friends were thinking. As the woman wiped and kissed Jesus’ feet, He looked over at Simon and said that He wished to ask him a question. He told Simon a story of two debtors who each owed debts that they were unable to pay; one owed a large amount of money, while the other’s debt was much smaller. Their creditor cancelled both debts. “Which debtor,” Jesus asked, “do you think would love the creditor the most?” Simon answered that he supposed the debtor to whom the creditor had forgiven the most would be the most appreciative.
Jesus told Simon that his answer was correct, then pointed to the woman at His feet. He contrasted her sense of genuine love, overwhelming gratitude and worship toward Him with Simon’s attitude of cool indifference. Jesus further shocked Simon and his friends by telling the woman that her sins were forgiven, and that her faith had saved her.
What had this poor woman seen that Simon and his friends were unable to see? They had all heard and seen Jesus, but their reactions were profoundly different.
Jesus’ message about the Kingdom of God kindled hope in this woman, and with it a sense of profound gratitude and love. Growing up in the Jewish community, she was undoubtedly aware of the scriptural promise that one day God would set up a Kingdom that would supersede all others. However—until she heard Jesus—she had no hope of being there herself. Such a Kingdom, she had assumed, might be for people like Simon and his friends, but it certainly did not include “losers” like her. She had “blown it” a long time ago, and had no hope of an inheritance in any Kingdom that God would establish.
Then she heard Jesus of Nazareth! For the first time, she could actually see herself in that Kingdom! Her hope was rekindled, and her sense of gratitude was deep and profound. She saw her profound need for Jesus’ message and what He offered, and she believed what He said. This new hope overwhelmed her, and it changed her life.
Simon, on the other hand, heard the same message but had no similar response. He and his friends had illusions of spiritual self-sufficiency. By their own estimation, they did not “owe” much, and therefore did not need much from Christ. They were not overwhelmed with a sense of deep love, worship and gratitude when they saw Jesus. The woman was!
When you look at the world around you, do you see the long-term perspective that the psalmist saw? When you look at the future, do you see what the prophets saw? When you look at Jesus Christ of Nazareth, do you see what the woman saw? Those who use the light of God’s Word to illuminate what they see, and who examine it through the lens of faith, are able to see what all of God’s true servants down through the ages have seen.