Gaze and Grow
Transformation begins by turning toward the light.
Devotional Credit: Abide Above
Photo Credit: Unsplash
Today’s devotional from Miles Stanford draws our hearts beyond mere preservation into transformation. While many believers find comfort in knowing that Christ shelters and sustains them—a truth certainly to be cherished—the devotional presses us further. It reminds us that the Christian life is not merely about having our needs met by Christ, but about being conformed to Christ.
The Bible is not just an instruction manual or a source of encouragement—it is the biography of the Beloved, Jesus Christ. It reveals Him not merely as our Savior, but as our Pattern, our Life, and our heavenly Object. There is a moment, it says, when the soul glimpses this union—not only that we are in Christ, but that Christ is to be the very model and expression of our life.
This transformation comes not by striving to imitate Christ, but by fixing our gaze upon Him. As Hebrews 12:2 reminds us, He is both the Author and Finisher of our faith. When we behold Him, we are changed (2 Corinthians 3:18). We grow not by effort alone but by vision—by seeing Jesus. In this beholding, the Spirit forms in us what the Word feeds us.
✍🏼 Personalized Journal Entry – Voice of the Holy Spirit Through Scripture
You were never meant to survive off fragments of comfort, as though your faith were a series of rations. I did not place you in Christ merely to preserve you—I placed you in Him that you might be conformed to Him. The One who saved you is also the One who lives in you, and the One to whom your eyes now turn with joy.
You have read the Word with your mind, but I long for you to see the Word with your spirit—for it speaks of Me. I am the radiance of the Father’s glory, the exact imprint of His nature. When you look to Me, you are not studying an idea but beholding a Person—your indwelling Life, your heavenly Pattern, your eternal Rest.
Do not reduce Me to a caretaker. I am your Life. Let your gaze linger, and you will grow. The transformation you seek does not come from trying harder—it comes from looking longer. As you behold Me, the veil lifts, and I shape you into My likeness. It is not imitation, but impartation—My life expressed in yours.
Fix your gaze upward. Let Me be the focus, the joy, the substance of your life. When you look to Me, you are looking into the very face of God—and from that vision, I conform you from glory to glory.
Scriptures referenced: Hebrews 1:3; Hebrews 12:2; 2 Corinthians 3:18; John 15:5; Romans 8:29
🖼 Real-Life Analogy
It’s like sitting near a window at sunrise. You don’t strain to become warmer or brighter—you simply sit there, letting the light reach you. Slowly, without your effort, your face glows with the morning rays. You didn’t create the light—you just turned toward it. That’s what happens when you behold Christ.
🙏🏼 Prayer of Confidence
Father, thank You for revealing Christ not only as my Savior but as my very life. I rejoice that I no longer have to strive to become like Him through my own efforts. I simply gaze upon Him, and Your Spirit forms His likeness in me. Thank You that I already share in His life, His righteousness, and His victory. I rest in the joy of knowing that as I behold Him, You are conforming me to His image—moment by moment, glory to glory.