Encountering Jesus: Part 4 Seeing Jesus for the Rest of Your Life

“And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.” Matthew 28:20b

How was it for you to see Jesus in your past? Did it touch or change you in any way? I know that when I have seen Jesus or led others through it, I have seen powerful results in my life and in theirs. Seeing Jesus heals you in ways that couldn’t be healed by your knowledge or your logical mental assent. It touches something deep inside your heart — those places that couldn’t be accessed otherwise. Seeing Jesus changes your emotions, gives you His perspective, and can heal your memories. In Psalm 139:5-6, David declares, “You hem me in behind and before, and you lay your hand upon me. Such knowledge is too wonderful for me, too lofty for me to attain.” You see, God goes before us, but He even goes behind us, to heal us from the memories and hurts of the past.

I don’t know about you, but I seem to have an endless supply of memories that could use some healing. There are those bad places, where something unjust was happening to you. Seeing Jesus in those places and seeing His expressions, actions, and heart for you heal you when you realize that He was always there and that His heart was breaking for you. 

There are those lonely memories, when you felt completely alone in the world. Seeing Jesus in those places heals you when you realize you were never alone. 

There are those shameful memories where you were doing something that you knew you shouldn’t be doing. Seeing Jesus in those places heals you when you realize that He wasn’t ashamed of you or condemning you, but instead He was looking at you with so much compassion, knowing exactly why you were doing it (what hurt in your heart caused you to do that thing) and loving you all the way through it. 

And even in the good memories, seeing Jesus is incredibly, powerfully reassuring and sparks love, confidence, peace, and joy. When you see Him for yourself, you can see His expressions, hear what He had to say in that moment, and fully experience His character in ways that you couldn’t otherwise. 

For me, when I see Jesus, I feel the depths of His goodness, mercy, peace, and love in profound ways. I feel the joy within Him that always surprises me. He is so joyful! So much more than we can even imagine or expect! Growing up in the church, and in the seriousness of religion (with its rules and rituals that can weigh us down), I find that I am always surprised by Jesus’ joy and His lack of religion. Jesus is a person — an infinitely good, loving, joy-filled, merciful person who loves you so much! His delight in you never ends. And you have been given the most extravagant gift of being able to know Him personally. The veil has been torn! Take advantage of it! Know Him to the fullest.

Seeing Jesus also helps you to know, to truly know, deep down, that He is with you always. When you see Him in the memories of your life, you have a true assurance within yourself that He has been with you every step of the way, even when you weren’t aware of it. Let this experience of Him sink in to you, giving you confidence in His presence today and every day of your life going forward. See Jesus in the moments of your life from now on. Practice looking for Him in all of your moments. How different would your life be if you were able to see Him in every part of your day and know what He felt towards you at any moment? How different would your life be if you knew you were never alone and were able to actually see this spiritual reality? This changes everything!

Just as this changes everything for you, it can change everything for your children too. As I look back on my memories and go through them with Jesus, I realize that although many of my circumstances probably would have remained much the same, my experiences of them would have been vastly different had I known how to see Jesus. Seeing Jesus would have softened the blow of every difficult time, would have elevated my joy and peace in the good times, and would have given me heavenly perspective in all of my circumstances. Imagine if your kids could do this! Being with Jesus would change their lives starting at such a young age. And here’s the good news: they can! 

In fact, it may be even easier for them to see Him than it is for you. I do this exercise frequently with my kids. We will pick a moment from our day and ask to see Him. After we’ve all seen Him, we’ll go around and describe Him exactly as we saw Him to each other. It is so much fun. We all love doing it, and we love hearing each others’ descriptions of Jesus. Everyone’s description of Jesus is so beautiful in its own right. When your kids know how to do this, they can envision Him any time that they need Him. This is so powerful for those times when you can’t be with your kids, but they have to face something difficult. Just the knowledge that they are not alone can make everything immeasurably better. So don’t just stop at doing this yourself. Teach your kids to see Jesus today, and their lives will never be the same!   

So in closing, now that you have seen Jesus and know the way that it can change you, continue to see Him! Look for Him in your everyday life, and do it with your kids on a regular basis as well. Ask the Holy Spirit to guide you to specific memories that need to be healed. Go to those places, and ask Jesus where He was. Prepare to be healed, prepare to get His perspective on your past, present, and future, and prepare to live every day in so much joy and peace, knowing that He is with you. 

Blessings and Love,

Linda S.

 

Linda Steppenbacker
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