Ecclesiastes 6:9 Better is the sight of the eyes than the wandering of the desire: this is also vanity and vexation of spirit.

I have noticed of late my behavior of late, that I bow my head in church often. I do it instinctively but I have come to an understanding of why a little better now. We need not eyes to see. The human eye can be and often is a worldly distraction from things spiritual.

We look at people and wonder. When you care about people you tend to think odd things, perhaps not so odd. He’s looking thin and tired. She is in pain again. Is that a new shirt? Is he trying to grow a beard? What is he looking at over there? That wry smile, something funny happened, what did I miss?

Closing my eyes quiets my mind from things that are distracting me from the message and what God might be doing in the moment. Ignoring God when He is trying to tell you something is one form of vexing the spirit. Putting your eyes to no good use is a form of vanity, it does not produce anything godly.

Understand this is me and the way I am. I cannot speak for anyone else but myself. Do you have to do what I do? Of course not. But if you are having trouble hearing God, what are you doing to help kill the background clutter that is distracting you from hearing? Being in your prayer closet has nothing to do with a room or a door. It is a way of shutting out distractions.

Psalm 46:10a Be still and know that I am God…

That has nothing to do with body movement, but rather the quieted mind.

Galatians 1:15 But when it pleased God, who separated me from my mother’s womb, and called me by his grace,

There is so much richness in Galatians 1 which I could focus upon but I would like to point out just one thing, “it pleased God”. The reason I do so is because of many conversations I have had with some who doubt the voracity of God. I choose the word voracity rather than veracity to imply God’s large appetite for salvation.

The general doubt in those conversations exists about why God would take an interest in their lives. For some it is a feeling of unworthiness, that they do not deserve the love of God. That is a correct understanding because none of us are worthy of God’s grace. Yet that does not stop God from granting the grace to save us.

But why?

Because it pleases Him to do so. I find it also interesting that Paul should include the issue of his mother’s womb. The comparison has some striking resemblances of birth and being born again. The father knows the mother is pregnant. The father has a great expectation of arrival. The father does not wait until the child is born to love the child. Once born the father rejoices in the delivery and smothers the child in the warmth of his love, even though that child has done nothing but been delivered.

Galatians 1:4 Who gave himself for our sins, that he might deliver us from this present evil world, according to the will of God and our Father:

John 3:3 Jesus answered and said unto him, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.

But why?

John 3:16 says because God is love and that is what love does.

1 John 4:101-11 Herein is love, not that we loved God, but that he loved us, and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins. Beloved, if God so loved us, we ought also to love one another.