Where your eyes are, the rest of you follows. Eyes on Jesus.
The eyes lead.
Sledding on a snowy hill in our yard as a kid, I was always instructed not to look at the tree that was near the downward route.
Sometimes it was just hard not to look. But it was even harder when I hit the tree.
Where my eyes look, the rest of me follows.
In a human, the eyes lead the head, which leads the body. The body follows the eyes.
So I must look where I want to go.
In Hebrews 12, we have an amazing and life-giving invitation. It’s central to our success. And it all starts with where we keep our eyes:
… let us strip off every weight that slows us down, especially the sin that so easily trips us up. And let us run with endurance the race God has set before us. We do this by keeping our eyes on Jesus, the champion who initiates and perfects our faith.
– Hebrews 12:1-2 (NLT, emphasis added)
If a coach were to shout a cheer of encouragement to a runner in the race based on that Scripture, it might sound like this:
“Get your eyes on what Jesus is doing! That’s it! Keep your eyes on Jesus!”
How do I actually do that?
Last month, I wrote about the fresh oil God is pouring out for us to see what he is doing and do it.
Getting our eyes on Jesus is a practical first step.
If you find yourself thinking I want to do that, but how do I actually do it?, I encourage you to dialogue with God.
For me, journaling with God is a good way to converse with him when I have questions. It keeps me focused, helps me hear him, and gives me a written record that I can refer to.
For example, here are some questions I might use to journal with God about this:
God, I want to get my eyes on what Jesus is doing. How do I actually do that? Where else am I looking that you want me to look away from?
Prayer:
God, help me get my eyes on what Jesus is doing.
Teach me how to purposely look and fill my gaze.
Lead me to keep my eyes only where you want the rest of me to follow.
Related post: Fresh Oil
Related book: How to Journal with God
Original text and author photo copyright 2024 by AmyLu Riley. Sled photo credit: Bill Alexy on Unsplash. Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright ©1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
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