You Are What You Behold

According to the KJV dictionary, to behold is to “fix the eyes upon; to see with attention; to observe with care.” The actions used to describe beholding (fix, see with attention, and observe) all take time to do. As with paintings in an art gallery, beholding involves time—to fully take in and comprehend what is being seen.

This concept of beholding is one that many of us have heard before. Even more likely, you’ve heard it in a Christian context. Hearing it challenges us to question where we are focusing our time and energy. What do we spend most of our time doing? What consumes most of our thoughts? And most importantly, are we good stewards of what has been placed in our hands?

If we are honest with ourselves, we get carried away with work, social activities, family, ambitious ventures, mindless scrolling and watching our screens, and so much more. Our lives are so fast-paced. It has become normal to celebrate the “busyness” as a victory, as a sign of success. But is it?

I’ve found that we get so carried away with this busyness that we miss God. And people I’ve been chatting with also feel the noise of busyness drowns out His voice. In the small moments where He delights in the daily pleasures with us, and in the big moments that we will remember for a long time. In the moments with our families, in the quiet of the morning, in the challenging times. We miss God in it all because we get so caught up in the busyness, that we forget to take a step back and behold what He has placed around us and how He is working every single day.

Those who look to him are radiant; their faces are never covered with shame. (Psalm 34:5 NIV)

As you look to Him more and more every day, His radiance falls on you. There will be a glow about you. I imagine it to be like gazing upon something that makes us happy, like in an art gallery, and you walk away from it radiating the joy of gazing upon something truly beautiful. And God certainly is beautiful... just look at His creation.

As a team at CBN South Africa, we’ve been encouraged to lean into God in the small moments — the mundanity of the day-to-day, the busyness, the quiet at the end of the day. To not only wait for and rely on the big moments, but to be consistent and look for those small moments with God. Often, the small moments lead to bigger ones. So today, as you read this, start thinking about how you can seek more of the small, precious moments with God as you tackle the rest of this year so that you may radiate Him wherever you go.

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Scripture is quoted from THE HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION^®, NIV^® Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.^® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.