Worried? Turn to Jesus, and Worship

Turn your eyes away from what is being taken away
and look to Jesus, who is better than life.

“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.”
—Helen Howarth Lemmel

The song “randomly” came into my mind and out of my mouth while I drove down the road on my weekly errands. Coronavirus was starting to dominate headlines, but there were still only a few cases in the US.

Much has happened since that day when I pulled into the overflowing parking lot at Sam’s Club, not just in the headlines, but in my heart. Without trying, I became a panicked person, unable to sleep or relax. The anxiety worked better than any diet, but I was an emotional wreck. As I lay in bed one morning, heart pounding, ears aching, praying hard to calm myself, “Turn Your Eyes Upon Jesus” came back into my mind. Why? I wondered. I was praying my heart out. Wasn’t I turning my eyes upon Jesus? Not really.

A popular slogan right now is, “Don’t worry. Pray.” It’s true that we should pray instead of worrying, but somehow it isn’t always enough to just pour out worries into prayers. I was praying out the panicked sentences running through my head, asking for mercy, pleading for comfort, pleading for it all to stop—but really, I was pleading for my easy, healthy life to not be taken away. With that attitude, I wasn’t gaining ground by turning my fear into petitions. The petitions were earnest, but mostly because the fear of losing my “normal life” was consuming my heart.

As coronavirus has crept into our country, most of us have felt the loss of our normal routines: going to work, going to school, sharing a meal at a restaurant, going to a birthday party, going to a grocery store and finding everything on our list, even shopping at the store without the fear of crossing paths with other shoppers. While I’ve felt the preciousness of physical life and my family, I’ve also mourned the loss of my ability to go wherever I want whenever I want and not find the toilet paper aisle empty. While I hadn’t consciously bowed my knee to these earthly conveniences, the truth is that I’ve treasured them in my heart. The recent threat that these good, comfortable blessings might be taken away caused me to clutch and panic, even though not one of these things is owed me. Praying that Jesus would spare my comfort and let me hold tight to this world’s fleeting shadows hasn’t brought peace of mind, nor should it. If I desire true peace, I must to look to something more precious and steadfast than the normal life being taken away.

King David was no stranger to hard times. More than once he had to hide in the wilderness while his enemies pursued him. He experienced many battles and treacherous plots. We have glimpses of his turmoil in the psalms—and also a look at what helped his heart rest in peace even when his world turned upside-down. Consider Psalm 63, which he wrote while being pursued in the wilderness:

O God, you are my God; earnestly I seek you;

my soul thirsts for you;

my flesh faints for you,

as in a dry and weary land where there is no water.

So I have looked upon you in the sanctuary,

beholding your power and glory.

Because your steadfast love is better than life,

my lips will praise you.

So I will bless you as long as I live;

in your name I will lift up my hands.

My soul will be satisfied as with fat and rich food,

and my mouth will praise you with joyful lips,

when I remember you upon my bed,

and meditate on you in the watches of the night;

for you have been my help,

and in the shadow of your wings I will sing for joy.

My soul clings to you;

your right hand upholds me. (Psalm 63:1-8)

Nothing in David’s physical circumstances changed from the beginning of the psalm to the middle (or the end). He was still in the wilderness being pursued. However, throughout the verses, we see him strengthened and encouraged. How? His cause for joy was not based in immediate deliverance from his trial, but in beholding his Deliverer.

When we face fearsome circumstances, the only thing that can calm our hearts is looking to Christ. In looking at Him, we are reminded of eternal truths. We remember this world is a fleeting vapor, but He is eternal, wise, and sure. We remember this world is doomed to death under the curse of sin, but Jesus has come and purchased a great salvation to provide His people with eternal life in a new earth untouched by sin and death. We remember that He Himself entered our world in flesh and died, but that He rose triumphant from the grave and even now lives. He is our always-present Shepherd who will faithfully and tenderly guide His own through every valley He places in their path.

Turn your eyes upon Jesus, self. Do you see Him? Do you know Him? Have you beheld His beauty? Have you meditated on His mighty deeds, His wondrous works? Have you yourself been saved from eternal death into eternal life by His powerful and gracious salvation? Look at Him. Look at this mighty Savior, this eternal God. Study the works He has made that surround your life. Meditate on what He has done in history to reveal Himself. Fix your eyes on this Pearl of Greatest Price. Be still and admire His perfections, His holiness, His beauty. See His love and wisdom. Worship Him—and let the world grow dim.

Jesus intends to loosen our grip on lesser things. His love for us will not allow us to keep our empty idols. While He may be doing a million things through coronavirus, surely one of His gracious providences is to remind our hearts that He, not our easy American life, is to be our treasure. Giving up our comforts is never an easy thing to do. No person walks happily into suffering, not even King David, but in the light of His glory and grace, our hearts gain perspective and peace when we realize that we are not losing our Greatest Treasure, but being changed so we can see Him better.

Self, are you panicked? Worship God. He is better than the easy life, the American dream. He is more powerful than any virus or world leader. He may not let us keep our comforts and idols—but He gives us Himself. If you have Him, you have everything, so fear not. Turn your eyes upon Him, turn your heart to Him, and worship and live in the grace He supplies.