Champion

Feb 8, 2022

"You 'watched me' as I was being formed in utter seclusion,

as I was woven together in the dark of the womb.

You 'saw me' before I was born,

Every day of my life was recorded in your book."

- King David, Psalm 139:15-16

"You (Jesus) are my Champion!

I am who You say I am!

You fill me with confidence..."

- Garden Music, For the City, “Champion"

Ever wonder how you ended up doing what you do and being who you are? Chances are someone saw something in you that you did not see in yourself. When I was a little boy, I always had a lot to say. I was a talker (Ha! I'm telling you something you don't know, right?), and my dad would often say to me, "Son, you talk too much." But my mom, she'd pay attention to me when I was talking. Awhile back, I asked her,

"Mom, when I was growing up, why did you always listen to me?"

She said, "Well, when you pay attention to a child when they're speaking, you teach them to respect their own opinions - you give them confidence by validating the importance of their ideas, their thoughts, their stories. You can't put that in a child you're ignoring."

I said, "Wow, Mom! Thanks for seeing how intelligent, how smart, and how insightful I was at such a young age."

Mom said, "Actually, you weren't saying nothing… mostly gibberish… but a Mom's gotta start with what she's got! (Smile)

Could it be that by paying attention to me, my Mom helped me to see a gift in me before I could see it in myself? Listen… love pays attention! Paying attention is one of the greatest gifts you can give to someone. Paying attention not only affirms their value and deepens their confidence that what they have to say is important, but you're also helping them see something good in them that they may never have seen before!

So here's the good news! God pays attention to you! At the end of every message I delivered, I would stand up, raise my hands, and declare this priestly blessing over God's people, that Moses taught the people of Israel:

"May the Lord bless you

and protect you.

May the Lord smile on you

and be gracious to you.

May the Lord turn His face toward you

and give you His peace."

- Numbers 6:24-26

By "turning His face toward you," God is giving you His whole-hearted, undivided attention. It is not the casual listening of a preoccupied mind. No! It's an engaged, concentrated, attention that says, "There's no place I'd rather be! There's no one I'd rather be with!" And this, Moses says, is the kind of attention that the Creator of Heaven and Earth pays to you!

And it gets better. "He smiles on you." God the Father's smiling face towards you is an image of delight - it's the face of a proud parent… it's the face of a radiant bride… it's the face of an affirming friend… it's the face of God towards you!

One of the things that keeps my heart tender towards Jesus is believing how intently He pays attention to me and to you.

Look at these verses…

As Jesus was walking along, He saw a man who was blind from birth (John 9:1).

Later, as Jesus left the town, He saw a tax collector named Levi sitting at his tax collector's booth. “Follow me and be my disciple,” Jesus said to him (Luke 5:27).

Then Jesus went over to their synagogue, where He noticed a man with a deformed hand (Matthew 12:9-10).

Jesus saw the huge crowd as He stepped from the boat, and He had compassion on them and healed their sick (Matthew 14:14).

When Jesus came by, He looked up at Zaccheus and called him by name (Luke 19:5).

When Jesus saw His mother standing there beside the disciple He loved, He said to her, “Dear woman, here is your son" (John 19:26).

Gee whiz… as great as the miracles were that happened in each of these stories, isn't it true that the greatest miracle of all began with, "Jesus SAW… Jesus NOTICED… Jesus LOOKED UP. No one has ever paid attention to you like Jesus! Today… He sees you! He sees the value… the gift… the hurt… the loneliness… the sadness… the struggle… the problem… And because He sees you, the miracle is just around the corner! There is not the slightest detail of your life that is not of immense interest to God! So… this Valentine's Day, the gift God has given to you… why not give it to those in your world?