Turning to Him

If we expect to see God’s ability in the here and now, it will require a turning. And this turning, according to Paul, is a turning to God.

People often think of turning to Jesus as being a bit too impractical in terms of spiritual advice. Turning to Jesus. Looking to Jesus. It sounds good, but what does it really mean?

While we seem to find the concept of turning to Jesus a bit mysterious, we don’t have any difficulty turning to our aches and pains and wants and lacks. They’re often all we think about. We stare at them through the windshield when we’re driving. We paint them on the back of our eyelids at night. We measure them, compare them, analyze them, dissect them. If our eye catches a headline that refers to them or a podcast that addresses them, we stop what we’re doing to watch and read and listen and commiserate.

We can’t get enough of them. We are fixed on them.

And they’ll take all our energy and attention if we let them. Because they hate being ignored. They’ll scream and squeal and pout and protest. They’ll remind you what all could go wrong if you dare to overlook them. And when they’re not pressing your anxiety buttons, they’re pushing their load of candied addictions at you, offering the cheap wares they sell for the relief you crave.

I’ll admit, I’ve sat down during Sunday services and have found my mind wandering back to my worries and concerns—even there, even in church, even after singing His praise and exalting His name. There I am, in the middle of God’s people and God’s presence, yet with my mind completely wrapped up in my circumstances.

Who’s really getting my worship here? What am I lifting up as the most important, most defining thing in my life? To what am I giving the bulk of my time and effort and energy and attention?

Where am I turning?
To Him? Or to them?
To His ability? Or to this apparent impossibility?

When was the last time you just told your stuff to shut up and go to sleep, and then gave your full attention—deliberately and intentionally—to the living Lord, your Father? Your caregiver. Your provider. And then laid back into the big, strong arms of Psalm 46:10 and got r-e-a-l-l-y still, just lying there “knowing that He is God.”

Worshiping Him. Meditating on Him. Repeating His Word from the depths of your memory or choosing new passages to write down and post in strategic places where you’ll run into them on a regular basis. Reflecting on His grace, His glory, His love, His mercy, His power, His might, His majesty . . . His ability. Reminding yourself of the last time He came through for you, comforted you, sustained you. Fighting the low-level cloud cover that’s blocking out the breakthroughs He’s wanted in your life.

You can toss and turn as you fret about your situation, or you can turn “to Him.” This is what an intentional focus on Him, His character, and His promises does. It turns your heart, mind, and body in the sole direction where all your help is coming from.

Thank you for reading!

This plan was adapted from the 10th Anniversary Edition of God Is Able (B&H Publishing Group, 2023) by Priscilla Shirer. Click here to learn more or purchase your copy.