Fixed

So, in stretching and strengthening, I was watching a recent video and she made this comment: when standing on one leg, fix your gaze on an object in the room that is not moving. Keep it there until you come out of the pose. Now, this can be difficult with 2 cats and a dog flying around me, but it actually does work.

Another. A frequent request for prayer is that we would make more time to be in the word, set aside time. There is so much going on. Or we are so tired. Fill in the blank here. We all have our reasons. I say to you, fix your eyes on the only One not moving. Take the time to sit and restore that gaze. Notice: everything else around you may be crazy, but start your day fixing your eyes.

Yesterday, our pastor spoke on 2 Chronicles 34, the story of Josiah. (It hasn’t posted yet, but check back.) And this mindset of fixing your eyes can be found right in the first verses of this chapter.

“Josiah was eight years old when he became king, and he reigned for thirty-one years in Jerusalem. He did what was right in the sight of the Lord, and walked in the ways of David his father (forefather) and did not turn aside either to the right or to the left. For in the eighth year of his reign, while he was still young (sixteen), he began to seek after and inquire of the God of his father David; and in the twelfth year he began to purge Judah and Jerusalem of the high places, the Asherim, and the carved and cast images.”
‭‭2 Chronicles‬ ‭34‬:‭1‬-‭3‬ ‭AMP

Verse 2 is a bit of anomaly among the kings of Israel and Judah. Allow an aside. Look at this list from gotquestions.org:

KINGS OF ISRAEL:Jeroboam I, rebellious, 931—910 BC
Nadab, bad, 910—909 BC
Baasha, wicked, 909—886 BC
Elah, evil, 886—885 BC
Zimri, sinful, 885 BC
Tibni, iniquitous, 885—880 BC
Omri (overlap), extra bad, 885—874 BC
Ahab, the worst to that point, 874—853 BC
Ahaziah, disobedient, 853—852 BC
Joram/Jehoram, mostly rotten, 852—841 BC
Jehu, not good but better than the rest, 841—814 BC
Jehoahaz, noncompliant, 814—798 BC
Joash, wayward, 798—782 BC
Jeroboam II (overlap), badly behaved, 793—753 BC
Zechariah, abysmal, 753 BC
Shallum, full of vice, 752 BC
Menahem, horrible, 752—742 BC
Pekahiah, idolatrous, 742—740 BC
Pekah (overlap), awful, 752—732 BC
Hoshea, appalling, 732—722 BC

KINGS OF JUDAH:
Rehoboam, mostly bad, 931—913 BC
Abijah, mostly perverted, 913—911 BC
Asa, good, 911—870 BC
Jehoshaphat (overlap), righteous, 873—848 BC
Jehoram/Joram (overlap), terrible, 853—841 BC
Ahaziah, bad, 841 BC
Athaliah (queen), devilish, 841—835 BC
Joash/Jehoash, mostly virtuous, 835—796 BC
Amaziah, mostly wholesome, 796—767 BC
Uzziah/Azariah (overlap), mostly respectable, 790—739 BC
Jotham (overlap), worthy, 750—731 BC
Ahaz, heinous, 735—715 BC
Hezekiah, the best, 715—686 BC
Manasseh, depraved until he repented at the end, 695—642 BC
Amon, treacherous, 642—640 BC
Josiah, great, 640—609 BC
Jehoahaz, dreadful, 609 BC
Jehoiakim, degenerate, 609—597 BC
Jehoiachin, frightful, 597 BC
Zedekiah, foolish, 597—586 BC

‬‬9 kings out of that whole list. 9 either good or mostly good or at the end good. That’s it. I did have to chuckle at the comments behind each king. Heinous. Depraved.

Back to Josiah, and verse 2. He did what was right in the Lord’s sight. He walked like his father, David. He did not turn to the left or right. He stayed his course. That’s a life well lived, isn’t it?

A thought provoking question from Pastor Gary Ricci that is staying with me: “Is there anything turning my head?” My first thought is how I begin my day. Yesterday, I started with social media and even as I was opening the app, I knew this was a bad decision. And. I went with it anyway. As I began my walk with my puppy, the gloom of comparing and envying cast my eyes down and to myself. I didn’t have to hear a still, small voice. I knew. I began my day with my eyes fixed elsewhere.

Let’s learn this lesson today. Even if it is only a few minutes, let’s commit to the focus on the Lord as we set our feet on the floor. Start with the word. What I realized all over again is that social media fixed my eyes on others’ shares and then the focus was placed on me.

I don’t have that (fill in the blank). I want that. Why don’t I have that? Etc. Etc. Do you see how this happens? The doom scrolling’s effect is really a focus on self. So, instead of beginning with this, let’s begin with opening our Bible. Where to start? Start with a gospel. Read some Proverbs. Read a Psalm.

Let us remember the story of Josiah. And when we forget or actually do as I did and consciously choose poorly, let’s turn our gaze to our gracious, forgiving, loving Father. Turn our eyes, Lord Jesus. And let us give Him thanks and praise, even when it is hard to find the words.

One last thing, I write this to my loved ones who hurt with every step, either physically or mentally. Sometimes our greatest prayer is just saying His name. Over and Over. Maybe it is listening to the word being read. Or turning on soft worship music. Cultivate a practice with me of thinking of our God often.