OCTOBER '25

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"Turn your eyes upon Jesus,
look full in His wonderful face,
And the things of earth will grow strangely dim
In the light of His glory and grace."

Her name was Helen Howarth Lemmel.  She was born in England in 1863.  She loved music and studied under the best vocal teachers of the time in both America and Germany.  She married rich, but in the middle of her life she lost her vision and her husband abandoned her.  She grew older and ended up living with government assistance in a single bedroom.  She initially didn't find the words of this beloved hymn to be a song, but the Holy Spirit worked to bring it to life.  This song was one of nearly 500 hymns that she wrote during her lifetime.  She died blind and in love with her Jesus just two weeks shy of her 98th birthday. (Morgan, 2011)

When you hear the phrase, "turn your eyes upon Jesus." what comes to mind?

When you think of Jesus, what do you see?

I'd like to press you on that second question- don't skirt past it.  Pause.  Take a breath.  Close your eyes.  And consider for a moment, what do you see?

Let's look at how scripture describes Him...

In Genesis 1:1-5, He is the Creator.

In Isaiah 53:3-5, He is familiar with pain and suffering.

In Matthew 14:19-21, He provides & remembers.

In Mark 7:33-35, He breathes healing over you in the intimate space of just you & Him. 

In Luke 7:11-17, His heart is moved by your weeping.

In John 14:15-18, He promises the Comforter who will never leave.


In Revelation 19:11-16, He is the Warrior who defeated sin & death.

These are the scriptures I need right now.  These are the promises and hopes that I am clinging to today.  If these don't hit home for you- ask Him to show you the scriptures that you need.  Then sit with your bible and read what you find there.  He'll show you.

Paul wrote in 2 Corinthians 4:16-18
 Therefore, we do not lose heart.  Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day.  For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all.  So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen.  For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.

"Light and momentary problems" is not how I would describe the state of our world or my personal struggles.  They feel heavy and unending, but the Bible calls them "light and momentary."  So I end up with this question in my mind: "How? How are the troubles of this life light and momentary?"  As I've been wrestling with this in my own walk with Jesus, the image of a bowling ball and mountain come to mind.  A bowling ball is heavy until you compare it to the weight of a mountain.  You don't take away pounds from a bowling ball when comparing it to a mountain- one just simply outweighs the other by an overwhelming amount.  

The bowling ball still has weight to it.  Jesus knows very well that life on earth can be full of pain.  He doesn't dismiss your pain, your weight that you carry- instead He longs to be invited into that weight. 
"Come to Me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.  Take my yoke upon you and learn from me for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.  For my yoke is easy and my burden is light." - Matthew 11:28-30 
(We will dive more into this verse next month).

 Paul says "these troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all."

From this I conclude 2 things:

1. Your bowling ball (your trouble here on earth) is doing something.  It is achieving an eternal glory.  Your pain isn't wasted.  It's not for nothing.

2.  The glory is eternal and it's weight far surpasses that of the suffering here on earth.  That blows my mind a little bit if I'm honest.  Most days I can't fathom anything heavier than my bowling ball and yet, God says He's got a mountain waiting for us.  The ball is heavy, but the mountain is far greater.

In case this feels really distant, let me remind you of the state Jesus was in at one particular point during His time on earth...

"He took Peter and the two sons of Zebedee along with Him, and He began to be sorrowful and troubled.  Then He said to them, "My soul is overwhelmed with sorrow to the point of death.  Stay here and keep watch with Me." Going a little further, He fell with His face to the ground and prayed, "My Father, if it is possible, may this cup be taken from Me. Yet not as I will, but as you will." 
-Matthew 26:37-39

"And being in anguish, He prayed more earnestly, and His sweat was like drop of blood falling to the ground." - Luke 22:44

He knows the weight of the "bowling ball."  He knows life on earth is painful.  He was the Son of God and God incarnate, yet He also experienced the depths of human suffering.

"When Jesus saw her weeping, and the Jews who had come along with her also weeping, He was deeply moved in spirit and troubled...Jesus wept. -John 11:33, 35

So, let me ask you again:

When you think of Jesus, what do you see?


Morgan, R. J. (2011). Then sings my soul: 250 of the World’s greatest hymn stories. Thomas Nelson. 

Comments

  1. AnonymousOctober 1, 2025 at 6:37 PM

    Thank you Emily. This helps me put my bowling ball into perspective. It wasn't that long ago when I asked the Lord the same thing as what Jesus asked. Please take this cup from me. The pain was so incredibly deep and strong I just wanted it to stop. I love you so much and the Lord is doing great things through you!

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