“[looking away from all that will distract us and] focusing our eyes on Jesus, who is the Author and Perfecter of faith [the first incentive for our belief and the One who brings our faith to maturity], who for the joy [of accomplishing the goal] set before Him endured the cross, disregarding the shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God [revealing His deity, His authority, and the completion of His work].”
Hebrews 12:2 AMP
So I’m sitting in a bus on sunday morning heading to Akuse ( a town in Ghana, some 2.5hours from Accra) for an outreach and i’m meditating on this scripture as we drive… and nothing in the scriptures relates to this scripture more than the story of Peter when He walked on the water with Jesus.
The scripture says in Matthew 14:29-31 ASV
“And he said, Come. And Peter went down from the boat, and walked upon the waters to come to Jesus. But when he saw the wind, he was afraid; and beginning to sink, he cried out, saying, Lord, save me. And immediately Jesus stretched forth his hand, and took hold of him, and saith unto him, O thou of little faith, wherefore didst thou doubt?”
I can just see that moment where Peter was moved with so much faith because all He could see was Jesus before him, on the sea… It was possible for him because the master was doing it… unfortunately within seconds he takes his eyes off the master and began to see the wind and his focus is now on the abilities of the waves, how it could most definitely drown him and at that very instance that reality began to work on him. He starts to sink.
We live in a noisy world that is looking to take our attention at any point possible and so we’re actually in the exact same place peter was when He saw the waves. Talk about different types of social media, tv programs, netflix shows, and add that to hangouts with friends, work or school, events on top of personal struggles, emotional stress, peer pressure… hweew! Very tall list of things that could command your attention from dawn to dusk but the question here is… If keeping your eyes on Jesus helps you walk on top of the waters, helps you overcome the circumstances of life and makes you a master over the things that trouble you wouldn’t you rather keep your eyes on Him?
When Adam and Eve ate the fruit of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil in the garden what happened was simply a shift in perspective… they stopped seeing God and started to see their nakedness, their shame! Take note of the question God asked when He came? He said “who told you you were naked?” How did you stop seeing my glory that clothed you and began to see your own nakedness… and that’s the same question He asks is everyday, “who told you you are stressed, or depressed or unworthy, or not enough, or that you can’t do it, or that you need to look this way to matter??? who told you?
When you look at your life, do you see a story carefully written by God or you see a series of events that have occurred from simply your own choices. Seeing the hand if God in everything around you is the key to living above the waves. When you see God, you see His wisdom, his power, His intents, His mind concerning what is happening, it makes life make sense and it gives you an inner capacity to not come under the pressure of life’s circumstances but rather to live meaninfully and productively inspite of them.
So what will looking unto Jesus look like in real life? First of all it will mean knowing Jesus, because How do you focus on Him when you don’t know who you’re looking for? So it begins with Knowing Jesus. Now what better way to know someone than spending a whole lot of time with them, talking with them, walking with them, listening to them speak, or even reading their books. Now before Jesus left he said He was going to send the comforter who will teach us and remind us of all the things Jesus said, therefore to know Jesus will be to be best friends with the Holy spirit so that through Him you are more than aquainted with him. Also considering that the bible is the word of God- As is Jesus himself, then fellowship in the word will mean fellowship with Jesus which in turn will mean getting to know him more which will furthermore mean being able to focus on Him.
Imagine going to the market with your mom as a child and getting lost in the crowd… what will be your first reaction? When you try to find her what are the things you’d be looking out for… her face, her dress, her voice, or perhaps even her slippers??? If you don’t know these things there’s no way you can identify her. You will end up following another woman home because you don’t know who your mother is.
So when you do feel lost and can’t seem to find your way take your eyes away from the problems and focus on Jesus, his love for you, the work He did on the cross to save you, the fact that all power on heaven and on earth has been given to him. Think on his faithfulness, his ability to heal the blind, the fact that He cares enough about you to leave the Holy Spirit with us for our grooming. Think on these things…
Stop focusing on your shortfalls, on your weaknesses or the mistakes of others. Take your eyes away from the things that distract you and fix your eyes on Jesus – He is the way!
Love,
Zoe 🌟