Turning Heads

There is an old story about a king and his servant. One day, the servant was standing before the king in his dining room when, all of a sudden, he heard a loud crash come from behind him. Startled, the servant spun around to see the source of the commotion. A distraught cook now sat on the floor surrounded by shattered pieces of porcelain and the food that was meant for the king’s plate. The servant turned his head back to the King, expecting him to be furious with the cook who had ruined his meal, but instead of anger, he saw a deep disappointment in the king’s eyes. “Oh king,” said the servant, “we will soon have your dining room back in order and the cook replaced. Your meal will be set before you in no time at all.” The king looked deeper into the eyes of the servant. “It is not my cook who has failed me. When you heard the crash from behind you, you turned to see from where it came. I am your master, and you are in my presence. Your one ambition is to serve me; to keep your eyes on me. Had I wanted you to turn around to see what I could already see, I would have requested it from you. You are dismissed from my service.” The servant realized the weight of his error. He was not commissioned to respond to every noise he heard. He was hired to respond to the request of the king.

Many times I find myself in the same position as the servant in the story. There I am in the presence of my Master when, all of a sudden, I am distracted by the commotion around me. I take my eyes off the King and turn my head to look behind me at the task that seems too large for me, the person that has offended me, the situation that seems out of my control, the relationship that has been broken, or the sickness that won’t seem to subside. When I turn back around, there is Jesus reminding me that he already sees it and his desire is that I would keep my eyes fixed on him. He will let me know when he needs me to turn around. He will say the word when it is time for me to move. He will instruct me on how he desires me to respond to my circumstances rather than react. Thankfully, unlike the king in our story, Jesus doesn’t dismiss me from his presence or his service when I take my eyes off him. He simply reminds me that when I choose to keep my gaze set on him, he will take care of what is going on around me. He simply taps me on the heart and shows me that when I see the things behind me through the reflection in his eyes, I have a perspective that is aligned with the truth and not with how I am feeling.

We turn our head and see a friend who has offended us. We look through the eyes of the Master and see a human who needs just as much forgiveness as we do ourselves.

We turn our head and see a diagnosis that has been deemed hopeless. We look through the eyes of the Master and see an opportunity for a miracle.

We turn our head and see a job that is draining our energy and passions. We look through the eyes of the Master and see an opportunity to take Christ into our workplace.

We turn our head and see bills that are bigger than our paychecks. We look through the eyes of the Master and see the gracious hand of God meeting every need we have before we know we have it.

Dear friend, don’t turn around for anything short of a word from the King.