We See Jesus

"They are His nature (how He thinks and does) and His character (what forms Him)."

“Let the words of my mouth, and the meditation of my heart, be acceptable in thy sight, O LORD, my strength, and my redeemer.” (Psalm 19:14)

I’VE READ this psalm for many days. All of its words speak healing. But of this final verse, there is a truth we must see and accept. The words of our mouth affect our peace, but also the meditation, the thoughts, of our heart. What we think about keeps us where we are in pain and trouble. Finding myself up against a mental brick wall, anger and weariness snapping at my heels, I must turn to Jesus in the Word and in worship and CHOOSE WHAT TO MEDITATE ON.

Philippians 4:8 says to think on what is true, honest, just, pure, lovely, of good report, with any virtue and any praise. Various translations add to these words beautifully. But at their heart we see Jesus. Well, how does one think on a person 24/7? All depicted images of Him are inaccurate, most being not a Second Century Jew. But a picture of Him, as pleasing as that would be to have, is not central on these words. They are His nature (how He thinks and does) and His character (what forms Him). And He is like the Father. Like the Spirit.

The Holy Spirit is not an automaton like some suggest from Jesus words in John 16:13.

“Howbeit when he, the Spirit of truth, is come, he will guide you into all truth: for he shall not speak of himself; but whatsoever he shall hear, that shall he speak: and he will shew you things to come.” (John 16:13)

We have to learn to take what we read and ask questions. Would the Holy Spirit who is the Power and Presence of God which recreates all things, only be a tool used by the Father and by Jesus to “get things done”? The answer is “no” because the Word is full of moments when He spoke and moved and acted. He is God. Going back to Genesis, where He hovered over the waters, that WAS NOT a six-foot square but the ENTIRE EARTH. From Psalm 139, we learn He is everywhere from east to west and north to south, including even in the depths of hell. Though we can’t fathom this, it gives light to the words of John 16:13. “Whatsoever he shall hear” is whatsoever is spoken or done anywhere. He heard it, and He shall speak of it. He is on the earth, among men, but He is also God in heaven. So whatsoever He shall hear there, He shall speak here. He is in complete unity with the Father and with Jesus who is the Christ, also stated in the verse in John, so whatsoever He shall hear of Them, He shall speak. These are the proper meaning of the verse.

Jesus is physically in heaven, yet He is spiritually inside us through the Spirit. When He speaks on earth among men, it is the Spirit speaking on His behalf. I have spoken to Jesus through the Spirit, have heard Jesus’ voice because of the Spirit, and the Father’s gentle, very powerful words, as well. When my life was dark and the devil was loud, God got louder. He made sure I knew His voice from the devil’s.

The devil can come “as” (or in imitation of) an angel of light. He will imitate God. But if you listen long enough, it always becomes accusation, condemnation, and your unhappiness. He can’t MAINTAIN it. Jesus’ words, on the other hand, are the same yesterday, today, and tomorrow. He is today, He was yesterday, and He will be forever to come (Hebrews 13:8;Revelation 1:8). He is never accusation, condemnation, or our unhappiness. If what God says makes us unhappy, then our flesh (our humanness) and our unchanged thinking habits are to blame. I have explained it this way many times—If you find yourself angry at someone, your anger is a red flag that you need to change. Our habit is to rail against the other person saying, they should change. But what if we changed our thinking habits, our reactions to them, and they don’t bother us anymore? Here is our true victory. I don’t want to think anger, hate, and violence anymore. Those are darkness. They are the ways of sin.

A picture of Jesus, painted in the Word, seeing Him as Healer, as compassion, as the Lamb of God, and the word and work of the Father, will alter our thinking. But we have to choose to dwell there, to turn to His Words when what isn’t Him keeps repeating in our head. A picture of Him through the Presence of God, the Holy Spirit, heals us. That is one thing Jesus said the Comforter would do among us. My mother pointed out you will not have any DISCOMFORT from the COMFORTER. This is so powerful. He is here to aid us in walking life WITH EASE. What God actually wants us to do is to never worry again (Philippians 4:6). He has promised that our needs are taken care of, our healing comes, and even greater, our health; we are WELL. Our future is in His hands, and it’s exceeding, abundantly above all we could ask or think (Ephesians 3:20). We should get up happy, go through the day happy, and go to bed happy without a care in the world.

God asks us to stop striving. Stop trying to do what Jesus has already accomplished. What feels like a battle, what is continually painted as a war, is really our opportunity TO REST. That is our victory. No one needs to return to the battlefield of an accomplished victory and keep fighting. It’s over, and Jesus won. So we take hold of His work and go forward in the peace of it. That is what He fought for, our peace, and what He won for all eternity. We must think on it and see it drop down in our hearts where it lives eternally and emerges in our thoughts, in our words, and in our actions.

“He offers a resting place for me in his luxurious love. His tracks take me to an oasis of peace, the quiet brook of bliss.” (Psalms 23:2 TPT)

Footnote, TPT: 23:2, The Hebrew word menuhậ means “the waters of a resting place.” See Isaiah 11:10.

“On that day, the root of Jesse will be lifted up as a miracle sign to rally the people. Gentiles will diligently seek him, and his resting place will be glorious!” (Isaiah 11:10 TPT)

Footnote, TPT: 11:10e, Instead of saying “glorious,” the prophet simply employs the noun glory (kabod). The bride of Christ is now His resting place. Song 1:16-17 … He had nowhere to lay his head (headship), but the heart of a believer is now His resting place. Glory is found at the place where he rests.


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Suzanne D. Williams, Author
www.suzannedwilliams.com
www.feelgoodromance.com