“Let your eyes look straight ahead, fix your gaze directly before you.” Proverbs 4:25
One of the hardest things for me to NOT do when I am at the ballet barre is to not look down. For whatever reason, it’s comforting to look down at my feet as they are tenduing and rondejambing. :) It seems to help get through some of the muscle aches and pains I may be feeling. It also keeps me comfortable…away from catching eye contact with the director. :) It sets me in my own world…to simply focus on my own feet.
But the problem with a dancer looking down at her feet while working at the ballet barre is this: looking down actually takes the whole body out of correct alignment. As she looks down, her shoulders subtly scoot one way, which results in her upper body twisting out of place slightly, which then results in the waist sinking into one hip, the hips become off centered, then the leg cannot work properly from the hip socket. On top of all that twisted-ness, it is putting extra pressure on the knees and ankles. Looking down, while it feels good and comfortable for the mind, wreaks havoc on the body.
It takes such discipline to keep the eyes up, the head and chin up, and to resist the temptation to check the mirror over and over. But when a dancer sinks into that discipline, it actually frees up her muscles and whole body to work properly.
In the dance of life, we “look down” in many ways that actually twist our spiritual growth so much that we can lose our footing, stunt our growth, and miss out on a deeper walk with the Lord.
Looking down can be kind of this inward withdraw from truly engaging in life because we feel not good enough, not adequate enough, not popular enough…so we keep our focus on our own feet…we just stay comfortable in our own little bubble…not wanting to cause too much of a ruckus! We stay inward…wanting to be strong and confident and a powerful vessel for the Lord…but our own insecurity or fear or whatever it is holds us back…meanwhile, our looking down actually distorts how God might want to use us. We have trouble believing He might want to use us.
Maybe looking down for you is looking in the past…you may feel like your past makes you unworthy for a good future. Or maybe you, like me, look too far into your future…wondering how it will all work out…we get so focused on trying to look ahead, that we miss out easily on what’s right now.
I love this little gem in Proverbs…”let your eyes look STRAIGHT AHEAD, fix your gaze directly before you…” what wisdom!
Christmas invites us to see that we have a Savior who we can look up to…and hold our gaze on Him…and dear one, He holds His gaze on YOU…all day long. He is the safe place to keep looking to. When we keep our gaze on HIM, we don’t have to look down anymore. When we keep our gaze on Him, we are free to dance through life the way He intended…with great peace, great joy, and great confidence in Him.
Don’t look down, dear one.
Prayer: “Lord, in my own insecurities and worries, I have been looking in the past, down, and in the future…missing the sweetness of the journey of simply keeping my gaze on You. Will You show me how to keep my eyes on You? Will You show me how to dance through life with a firm, fresh believing hope that Your eyes are always on me?”
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