Have you ever asked God for something…thinking you want what it is your are asking for but don’t really know the full gravity of what would happen if you actually got the desires of your heart in that moment?
A while back…even before I knew I was going on the race, I was going to the Dominican Republic on a mission trip and I asked the Lord for a heart for the people I was going to visit. A heart that could have compassion for them and love them the way the Lord loves.
Since being on the race I’ve found myself on my knees asking for this same thing…Lord let me see people how you see them…let me love people the way you love them.
I thought I had learned already that you should be careful what you ask for from the Lord…asking the Lord for something can be a dangerous thing…sometimes we think we want certain abilities and then when we are given them, it seems like too much to handle.
At times I allow myself to see people around me as the Lord sees them. I let my guard down and let my heart love like He loves… and my heart aches. I am given a glimpse into the reality of how the Father must feel for his children every day. The Lord wants good things for us and yet he sees us suffering day in and day out because we choose to not follow him. As I was thinking of what is going to come this month and the people I may come in contact with…I saw a vision of the Lord just weeping. My Father…on his knees weeping at the sight of pain and suffering that people are experiencing. His arms were stretched out and he was crying for us to come back to him and we turned our backs
That is the risk of asking the Lord for his eyes and his heart for his children… I find myself weeping at the sight of suffering and knowing that it doesn’t have to be this way if they would only run into my Father’s arms. Sometimes we can be stubborn and think we are too old to cry out PAPA… or we’ve been hurt in the past so our pride holds us back from crying out DADDY…Come Hold Me…Please!
I picture a scene from The Patriot…Mel Gibson’s character has a young daughter about 6 or 7 and she refuses to talk after her mother dies… As he’s leaving for battle one day he asks her just to say one word…that’s all he wants. She still says nothing and he backs away, gets on his horse and begins to ride away. That’s when she cries out PAPA…PAPA please don’t go; I’ll say anything just don’t go. He had to leave it up to her and leave the decision in her hands to run to him… The Lord is standing there just waiting for us to make the decision to come running to him.
That’s what I want to see people do when they need a Father’s love… cry out Papa and run after him. That’s what I want for myself…
I’ve been given small glimpses into how the Lord loves his people and it’s an unconditional love beyond belief. He will wait for me to come home to him just like my earthly dad waits on our front porch when he knows I’m coming home.
As much as it hurts and as much as my heart breaks for the world I meet day in and day out, asking the Lord for the ability to see as he sees and love how he loves is something worth asking for…just be prepared to be swept away with emotions that a Father feels when he sees his children hurt. And as much as it hurts to see people holding back and waiting to run to the Lord…all we can do is let them make that decision. The Lord has given us eyes to see what he sees…the potential they have and he’s given us love to encourage. Unless you are willing to endure the heartbreak with the Lord for his children…be careful what you ask for.
Give me your eyes for just one second; Give me your eyes so I can see everything that I keep missing…give me your love for humanity. Give me your arms for the brokenhearted, the ones that are far beyond my reach. Give me heart for the ones forgotten. Give me your eyes so I can see. (Brandon Heath)
