Looking Is Not Beholding: Learning from the Bees

Mesmerized. I stood there for a good twenty minutes in awe, taking in the seemingly simple scene. I was watching…bees.

As they rhythmically bounced from flower to flower in search of nourishment from nature, I was captivated by the gentle hum of their wings and the way they instinctively knew where to go next.

There is something special about pausing long enough to take in a moment, not just as a passerby but as someone fully present. It made me think about how there is a difference between looking at beauty and beholding beauty.

The Difference Between Looking and Beholding

Looking is easy. It’s quick, fleeting, and often transactional. We look at a sunrise, snap a picture, and move on. We glance at a friend while they’re talking but let our minds drift elsewhere. We read Scripture in the morning but rush past its meaning, forgetting it’s a feast prepared for us.

Looking is consumeristic because it keeps us at the center. It asks, ‘What can I get from this?’ rather than, ‘How can I see God in this?’

Beholding, though, is different. Beholding takes time. It’s intentional. It requires time, stillness, and a willingness to let something—or Someone—shape us. Beholding is unhurried.

Beholding beauty means we don’t just consume it; we let it consume us. We allow it to penetrate our souls. It changes our perspective, reorients our priorities, and reminds us that we are not at the center of the universe—God is.

As we behold, we invite God’s agenda to become our agenda, instead of the other way around.

Beholding the Lord

I don’t want to settle for just looking at God. I don’t want my time with Him to be a passing glance or a quick check-in before moving on to the next thing. I want to behold Him—to sit in His presence, to marvel at His goodness, to let Him have His way in me.

How often do we only look at God instead of beholding Him?

Psalm 46:10 says, “Be still, and know that I am God.” Not rush through, not glance at, but be still.

We pull out our journals, write down a quick prayer, and call this “communing with the Lord.” We consume Scripture just to increase our knowledge, instead of meditating and feasting on God’s very Word to us. We treat time with God like a task rather than an invitation to deep relationship.

But do you believe you can enjoy God?

To pause. To be still before Him. To talk to Him. To listen to Him. To delight in Him—not out of obligation but because He is good.

Practicing Beholding in Everyday Life

Beholding the Lord is not simply reserved for our structured prayer and Bible study, but it is for the mundane moments too. A life saturated with God, by God, and for God.

It happens in the slow, quiet moments—making our bed, washing the dishes, going for a walk, noticing His creation. These are all opportunities for communion, for beholding. Because God is ever-present in the ordinary.

He is an unhurried, patient Creator, inviting us into a way of life that isn’t about productivity but about presence.

So what would it look like for us to behold Him today?

Maybe it’s taking an extra moment in prayer, not rushing to fill the silence. Maybe it’s going for a walk without distractions (bye-bye AirPods), letting yourself be fully present. Maybe it’s simply paying attention—the way the wind moves, to the song of a bird, to the taste of your morning coffee.

Because when we behold, we worship. And when we worship, we are changed.