"magnify the lord" (see lk 1:46)
"You alone are God over all the kingdoms of the earth." —2 Kings 19:15
As I write this, I am nearly 30,000 feet in the air, flying home to Cincinnati. From this height, as I look down upon clouds and fields, I can clearly see and experience that the Lord alone is God "over all" the earth (2 Kgs 19:15). My problems back home seem tiny and my God seems huge. In a short time, I will be back on land, unable to see more than a few hundred feet. My problems will suddenly loom larger, because my vantage point has been altered.
King Hezekiah was surrounded by a vicious enemy whose strategy was to attempt to take Hezekiah's focus off of God and divert it to his problems. If only Hezekiah could fly 30,000 feet above his problems, he could readily see how mighty God is and how temporary his problems are. Yet that's exactly what Hezekiah did! Hezekiah "went up to the temple of the Lord" (2 Kgs 19:14) and "prayed in the Lord's presence" (2 Kgs 19:15).
When we come into God's presence, we realize how large and powerful He is, and the world and its problems become small (see Ps 73:25). But when we take our eyes off the Lord and focus on our problems, they threaten to swallow us up (see Mt 14:29-30ff). "Fix your eyes on Jesus" (Heb 3:1).
Prayer: Father, I will gaze upon Your loveliness constantly (Ps 27:4). May I never take my eyes off of You.
Promise: "Treat others the way you would have them treat you: this sums up the law and the prophets." —Mt 7:12
Praise: St. Thomas kept his eyes "fixed" on Jesus as he refused to support his king's infidelity to truth and subsequently lost his life.
Reference: (This teaching was submitted by a member of our editorial team.)
Rescript: †Reverend Joseph R. Binzer, Vicar General of the Archdiocese of Cincinnati, December 29, 2009
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