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JUST THINKING: Fixing Our Eyes on the Unseen
Dr. Tom Mitchell
I was just thinking about an old hymn by Robert E. Winset — “Jesus is Coming Soon.” Here are some lyrics: “Troublesome times are here, filling men’s hearts with fear; Freedom we all hold dear now is at stake. Humbling your hearts to God saves from the chastening rod; Seek the way pilgrims trod, Christians awake.”
I was thinking about the song because, in 1965, I was a member of the Central Baptist College Choir, and Harold Morris, the director of the Harvest Gleaner Hour (now Lifeword), asked us to record a theme song for the broadcast. That is the song we sang.
Don’t Lose Heart
As the apostle Paul addressed the church at Corinth, he wrote: “Therefore we do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day” (II Cor. 4:16 NIV1984).
Winset composed “Jesus is Coming Soon” in 1942, a year into World War II. He saw the troublesome times caused by a great war, but he also knew there was an answer — a hope beyond the chaos of such a war. While nations were engaged in visible battles, there was an unseen Commander who would ultimately win the greatest war — the war against sin and evil. Winset wanted the world to know that amid the troubles and woes, Jesus is coming again one day!
In 2024, wars and rumors of wars abound. But we must not lose heart. What we cannot see coming in the future, God already knows because He is there. He knew the end from the beginning!
Troublesome Times are Temporary
Paul wrote: “For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all.” (II Cor. 4:17).
Today, the average lifespan is mid-70s. But even if a person lives to be 100, that is a brief time in the grand scope of time. James wrote, “Why you not even know what will happen tomorrow. What is your life? You are a mist that appears for a little while and then disappears” (James 4:14).
In our lives, we have days like Peter when he walked on the water. He began to sink when he focused on the situation instead of the Savior. But when he fixed his eyes on Jesus, all was well.
Today, We Must Fix Our Eyes on the Unseen
Peter could see Jesus before him physically. We don’t have that ability at the moment. However, through our faith and spiritual eyes, we can fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith. The writer of Hebrews described that well for us: “Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see” (Heb. 11:1). That truth reinforces the fact that we can, indeed, fix our eyes on the unseen.
Another hymn says, “This world is not my home; I’m just a passing through.”That is a scriptural truth as well. Those who have fixed their eyes on Jesus have their citizenship in Heaven — even while still living on this earth.
King David prayed, “We are aliens and strangers in your sight, as were all our forefathers” (II Chron. 29:15). Paul, by inspiration, confirmed that fact. “But our citizenship is in heaven. And we eagerly await a Savior from there, the Lord Jesus Christ” (Phil. 3:20).
All around, we see homeless people and tragedies of all sorts. We watch the wars with Israel, we see a very poor American economy and all these cause our hearts to be filled with fear. But don’t lose heart!
Jesus Was, Is and Will Be the Answer
“So we fix our eyes no on what is seen, but what is unseen. For what is seen is temporal, but what is unseen is eternal” (II Cor. 4:18). Jesus explained it this way, “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life” (John 3:16). Indeed, Jesus is the answer in troublesome times.