DeeperSample

Lock Gaze

“The eyes are the window to the soul.” That’s why we ask children to look into our eyes when we instruct them. We want to see into their soul and for them to see into ours so that mutual love passes between us. We want our children to know who they are to us and obey us out of that identity. Parenting is all about the relationship. The same is true in our relationship with the heavenly Father. He wants us to look into His eyes and seek His face so mutual love can pass between us. He wants a relationship.

God provides opportunities for our eyes to lock with His as He reveals Himself with equal frankness. The scripture emphasizes the importance of seeking God’s face. When we “lock gaze,” we are expressing a heart that is willing to know and be known. The writer of the Song of Songs calls this undistracted gaze “dove’s eyes.”

One night I had a dream that greatly affected my understanding of this principle. In the dream I was mingling with a group of Christians I did not know. A lady approached me and accused, “You’re a hypocrite!” I was shocked because I had diligently pursued authentic Christianity. I also enjoyed a deep love relationship with God. In angry defense, I blurted, “Prove it!”

She replied, “You can’t even ‘hold the gaze.’”

Suddenly, I became aware of a man seated in a wingback chair near a fireplace. I sat down on a sofa opposite Him and tried to gaze into His all-seeing eyes. I could not hold His gaze more than a few seconds. Suddenly, I woke.

You might guess that the man in the chair represented Jesus and my inability to look at Him for more than a few seconds revealed the truth about my so-called spiritual intimacy with Him. My life verse is Psalm 27:8: “My heart says of You, seek His face. Your face, Lord, I will seek!” Obviously, seeking the Lord in this way has been very important to me. Still, I could not look deeply into the eyes of my God.

Activate

· Open your Bible to a narrative that you particularly love. Examples: Jehovah speaking to Moses on Mount Sinai (Ex. 33:12–21), David’s description of God as a Shepherd (Ps. 23), Jesus with the woman at the well (John 4), or cooking fish on the beach with His disciples (John 21), Jesus on the cross (John 19)—any biblical narrative of God unveiling Himself to us.

· Here is a profound truth: God knew that you would be opening the Word in this very moment and that He would visit with you the context of this very narrative. He wants to engage with you here; He wants to lock gaze with you in this context. 

· Look directly at Him in this scene and see Him looking back at you.

· Enjoy Him there without looking away.

· Worship Him.

· Know that He can “lock gaze” with you in any circumstances of your life in the same way. Cultivate transparency between you and the God who is ever vulnerable before us.

You may enjoy the scriptures that follow in The Passion Translation (TPT).