Nov
28
2007
28
2007
A Strange Dimness
Filed under: Following Jesus
Several people have asked me how I was able to get books on the road…since I have no library 
I always laugh and tell them that I have NO time for reading anyway! However…I have refocused my priorities a bit and have been reading again. And OH! How I missed it. Reading feeds my soul. I so LOVED one of the books, that I just knew had to share it with you. I found it on my dear friend Angela’s bookshelf when we stopped at her house in Tennessee and she was gracious enough to let me take it with me to finish.
The book is called “Faithful Women and Their Extraordinary God” by Noel Piper (John Piper’s wife). She tells the stories of five women who have been used by God to do mighty things…some were missionaries, some were mothers, all were amazing. There was one paragraph in the book that really stuck out to me. It was the chapter on Lilias Trotter, an artist and missionary to the Muslims in Algeria.
I’ll give you the paragraph before for some context…
She was free now to throw herself wholeheartedly into her ministry in London. She remained Ruskin’s friend to the end of his life, though he never understood her decision. and she still loved art–how could she not when her soul was so tenderly vulnerable to beauty. But she enjoyed her art now as a gift, not a passion. Much later, she realized even more strongly the importance of focusing on Jesus, rather than on all the good things he gives us.
Never has it been so easy to live in half a dozen good harmless worlds at once…art, music, social science, games, motoring, the following of some profession, and so on. And between them we run the risk of drifting about, the good hiding the best. It is easy to find out whether our lives are focused, and if so, where the focus lies. Where do our thoughts settle when consciousness comes back in the morning? Where do they swing back when the pressure if off during the day? Dare to have it out with God…and ask Him to show you whether or not all is focused on Christ and His glory…
How do we bring things to a focus in the world of optics? Not by looking at the things to be dropped but by looking at the one point that is to be brought out. Turn your soul’s vision to Jesus, and look and look at Him, and a strange dimness will come over all that is apart from Him.
…excerpt from “A Passion for the Impossible” (Rockness)
…a strange dimness will come over all that is apart from Him. Wow. I need to repeat that again and again. How often do we search and endlessly for something to change our life? For something that we can ADD to our life to make it better…more fulfilling…more exciting…when all we really needed to do was to change our FOCUS? We don’t need to add anything…or even deliberately take things “away” from ourselves (unless they are causing sin in your life). We just need to “look and look”at Jesus…His words, His ways…and a “strange dimness” will come over all that is apart from him.
This has happened often in my life…and I know that many of you can relate. When I start to read my Bible more, I crave more and more of God’s word. Which, in turn, makes a strange dimness come over my desire to watch TV. When I spend more time with Bella and Matt…a strange dimness comes over surfing the web aimlessly for hours. Jesus is a “light” that washes out things that aren’t pleasing to Him.
Where is your focus right now? Are you “living in a half a dozen good harmless worlds at once”? As wives and mothers, we are prone to taking on too many extracurriculars…being involved with too many things outside the home…spending too much time on hobbies…all of these things are “good harmless” things, but when they draw your focus away from Christ and from your ministry to your family. You must reassess…and return to your first love. And if you’re like me, you need to continue to do it on a regular basis.
I’m not sure, but I wonder if Lilias Trotter was thinking of this beautiful hymn when she wrote the words above…my mom used to sing it to me when I was having a particularly bad day, and these words still comfort me in times of struggle:
Turn your eyes upon Jesus,
Look full in His wonderful face;
And the things of earth will grow strangely dim
In the light of His glory and grace.
Amen.
Posted by Sara @ 6:25 pm | Leave a Comment
Sara
Daughter of the Almighty. Wife. Mama. Sister. Friend. Traveler. Photographer. Designer. Tea drinker. Reader. Knowledge seeker. Google lover. Kitchen dweller. Dreamer. Leader. Homebirther. Breastfeeder. Homeschooler. Lover of life.
28
2007
Sara what an inspiring post! I am tempted to get the girls at church to sit and read Noel’s book together. Thank you for the gentle reminder that although there is much to enjoy in this life it IS passing away. Only what we do for God’s glory and to further His kingdom is what will last.
28
2007
This was a a timely reminder for me today. Thank you for sharing this book. I really needed to hear what you had to say.
28
2007
(Not the same Dawn as the previous comment…LOL)
Sara, you can’t possibly know how badly I needed to be reminded of this today! Thanks for your insight. I’ll have to get my hands on this book!
29
2007
Sara, I needed this today. I set my eyes on unimportant things most days - how I desparately want to focus on Christ! I’m getting Noel’s book. Thanks.
29
2007
Sara, Thanks so much for the very timely post. I am reading another of Noel Piper’s books - Treasuring God in our Traditions. It’s a great book. Her main idea is when family traditions are rooted in the Bible, the next generations will see that the greatest treasure that anyone can have is the treasure of God.
29
2007
Sara, I am so glad that you are enjoying the book. I need to print this post out and carry it with me. I found this to be so very true in my life. My soul hungers for what I feed it. So, if I feast on the things of God then I will long for it more and more but when I feed myself the things of the world, I find myself craving those things even more. So important to realize that only God can truly satisfy. It reminds me, Sara, of the 2nd verse in Isaiah 55 we talked about last Sunday, “Why do you spend your money for that which is not bread, and your labor for that which does not satisfy? Listen diligently to me, and eat what is good,and delight yourselves in rich food.” God is good. Thanks for this post.
29
2007
I desperately needed to hear this today, Sara. I am constantly just trying to pay my bills and pay off my debt, and I try to do it myself (even though I’ve said, “Lord I’m giving this to you”) and so I take dumb jobs like the one I have now and I lose my focus. (Can you feel my frustration?!) A strange dimness has fallen over several parts of my life and I see that I must take steps of faith and refocus. Thank you for posting this. It has truly blessed me today.
29
2007
I couldn’t help but wonder as I read your post if Lilias Trotter wasn’t the writer of the hymn you quote. A little investigation at cyberhymnal.com revealed this: “This hymn (Turn Your Eyes Upon Jesus) was first published in Glad Songs, by the British National Sunday School Union. Its lyrics were inspired by the Gospel tract Focused, by Lilias Trotter, which included these words:
So then, turn your eyes upon Him, look full into His face and you will find that the things of earth will acquire a strange new dimness.”
Thought you might find this interesting!
I enjoy reading your blog from time to time. I used to attend Grace Baptist in Grand Forks and was on the worship teams with Matt sometimes.
-Angela
29
2007
I really needed this post, especially during this time of the year when everything seems so busy. I’ve definitely need more time with Jesus. Thank you!
29
2007
What an awesome post! This is something that I, too, needed to be reminded of right now as we are adjusting to our new baby girl. It is so easy to hop on the computer and zone out when I get a free minute (or 10) rather than spend that time with God.
I saw the title of your post this morning (and read the post just now in the afternoon) and I immediately thought of the hymn you quoted.
It’s one of my favorites and its been in my head all day - and that’s a very good thing! 
29
2007
Did you know that Piper’s ministry, Desiring God offers all their books for free online?
It’s a great way to conserve and save money!
http://www.desiringgod.org/ResourceLibrary/OnlineBooks/ByTitle/
Keep up the awesome blogging! It’s a blessing!
29
2007
Angela…thank you so much for researching that!! I knew there had to be a connection
Brit…WOW! Thank you so much for sharing!
29
2007
I love Lilias Trotter! She’s such an undiscovered gem. A Passion for the Impossible is very much worth buying. I actually wrote a paper on her last semester.
Did you know that Lilias was actually the inspiration for “Turn Your Eyes Upon Jesus”? It was written by a woman who knew her. How cool that you would associate that song with her without even knowing that.
29
2007
Oh, I thought I had skimmed the comments enough to see that no one else had mentioned that already, but I guess I wasn’t thorough enough.
30
2007
What a pretty pretty post! Thanks for sharing. I was humming the song before I got to the end! I love when words are like music…
30
2007
Do you know it’s funny you mention that song, because I just HAD to sing it the other day? I haven’t heard it in a couple years. My two year old just stared at me in awe, or maybe it was shock. It’s a lovely song.
3
2007
I’ve really thought about what you’ve said in this post for a couple days now and it speaks to me so clearly- as far as the “place” I am at right now… thank you.
Steph
3
2007
SO good sara.
thanks for sharing this.
3
2007
Thanks for this great reminder. I’m going to look for this book!
16
2007
Sara,
This is a beautiful post, and so true. I constantly need to reassess and make sure I’m turning my eyes to Jesus. I love Noel Piper’s book. After reading it, I bought “A Passion for the Impossible.” Being an artist and having a love of missions, I found her life so inspiring.
15
2008
[…] 16, 2008 by Jessica This post is so true…when was the last time we were so saturated with God and eternal things that […]
18
2008
[…] to click on another page, I knew I needed to add this blog to my daily reads. The post is called A Strange Dimness and it really got me thinking. I’d love to hear what you […]
18
2008
HI Sara,
You know that is the second time I have come across that hymn in the last 24 hrs on the net. My sister in law died of melanoma 18 months ago (a week short of 45 yrs) and she had said during the 7 weeks that she had between the diagnosis and her passing away, that she vividily felt the “dimness” described in this song. She was intent on looking to her Father in Heaven. This is a reminder to me, I am one who gets caught up in the busyness & the worries of this life and find it hard to concentrate on spending time with the Lord.
19
2008
[…] After writing this post, I discovered a very relevant blog post, a strange dimness. When your eyes are focused on one thing, a strange dimness covers all the other things. So the […]
28
2008
It´s a very good website you have here,
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