Eyes On Jesus

By F. D. Adkins

Prior to this week, I did not see how our schedule could get any busier, but it did. And maybe it was not that there was more to do, but that I allowed it to consume and overwhelm me. It was as if my list of chores was swirling around me in a cyclone. And then, as I began to jump from task to task without finishing one before moving to another, I was no longer in the middle of the tornado, getting dizzy from watching it rotate. Instead, my frustration had me spinning with it.

So, I had to stop myself and take a moment to reassess and reprioritize. Upon doing so, for some reason, I recalled a fishing trip my family had taken several years back. My husband loves to fish, and my children and I had never been fishing in the ocean, so we thought it would be a fun weekend getaway. I scheduled a charter boat for the four of us, and since it was our first time, I only opted for the half-day trip.

My son could not have had his fishing pole in the water longer than two minutes before he became seasick and passed it off to me. A couple of minutes later, my daughter did the same. Now, at this point, I have three fishing poles, and my stomach is starting to churn. We were quite a ways out in the ocean, but yet, in the distance, I could still see the shore. And, on the shore, I could see the top of a tower rising above everything else, so I locked my eyes on the tower. Keeping my focus on a fixed object seemed to ease my queasiness.

I realized that this recollection actually had a valuable lesson. Just as I had kept my focus on the tower to keep the rocking waves from making me ill, keeping our eyes focused on Jesus will keep the monotony of our daily lives and the stresses of living in this world from bringing us down.

“…let us run with patience the race that is set before us, Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith;…” Hebrews 12:1-2 KJV.

I know I have said this before, but this week I had to remind myself. The race I am running is not about my list of chores. The race I am running is for my Savior. In order to cross that finish line, I have to keep my eyes on Him, remembering that I am not in this race for my purpose but to fulfill His purpose for me.

In 1 Corinthians, chapter 9, Paul details how the race should be run. I pray that we can run our race as Paul did, and I leave you with his words.

“I therefore so run, not as uncertainly; so fight I, not as one that beateth the air: But I keep under my body, and bring it into subjection: lest that by any means, when I have preached to others, I myself should be a castaway” (1 Corinthians 9:26-27 KJV).