My hubby gave me some great advice
for mountain biking… make sure you look where you want to go because your bike
follows your eyes. Good to know! I should avoid looking down the
mountain where I didn’t want to go and look straight ahead on the trail so I’d be safe. And thankfully, I did survive… after an endo within the
first 30 seconds on the trail. Like I said, I’m not
much of a mountain biker...
My hubby’s advice also applies
to other areas of our lives besides mountain biking. Where we focus our
eyes makes a huge difference in our lives. So my question to you is where
are your eyes focused today? Are they focused on worries, trials, lies,
your circumstances? Or are they focused on Jesus, the author and
perfecter of your faith? I know that when my eyes are focused on worries,
trials, and lies, my mood and attitude are not the best. In fact, taking
my eyes off Jesus can quickly send me off the mountain and down into a pit of
doubt, fear, insecurity, and lots of other negative things… Can any of
you relate? But when I choose to surrender my worries to Jesus and trust
in Him completely, the things of the world become strangely dim and I start to
experience peace, hope, and joy. I know it’s not always easy to
keep our eyes fixed on Jesus… and Satan will use whatever distractions he can
to get us to turn our eyes away. But these simple words,
whispered in the moment, “I trust you, Jesus,” can help redirect our eyes and
rescue us from a potential tumble down the mountain.
The Bible gives us some good
reasons to fix our eyes on Jesus...
Hebrews 12:1b-2
…and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us. Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.
2 Corinthians 4:18 encourages us
too: So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen, since
what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.
How’s that for some encouragement…
our circumstances on this earth are temporary… but heaven is eternal. God
is faithful. His love is constant and unchanging. We have a future
of perfection awaiting us when we invite Jesus into our hearts. That’s
something we can cling to in the midst of our trials… they are temporary.
So what are your eyes fixed on
today? If you’re on the verge of falling off the mountain, just change
your gaze. Look straight up to Jesus… call on His name…for Hebrews
4:15-16 reminds us “For we do not have a high priest (Jesus) who is unable to
sympathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every
way, just as we are – yet was without sin. Let us then approach the throne of
grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us
in our time of need.” Call out to Jesus. He not only understands,
but He can help you. Jesus is waiting to shower you with mercy and grace
during your time of need. Look up to Him instead of focusing on your circumstances…
because Psalm 34:5 says “those who look to Him are radiant, their faces are
never covered with shame.” Let’s fix our eyes on Jesus so we can be
covered in His radiance today.
And here's a song to the help bring the point home… one of my
recent favorites called Strangely Dim by Francesca Battistelli. Let the
chorus remind you to fix your eyes on Jesus moment by moment. And let the
things of the world grow strangely dim…
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