Jesus Is Our Prize - Favorite Verses 3
We live in a crazy busy world. Our days and nights are filled with things to do. They are filled with priorities we have to get done, fun and exciting things we get to do, and things we do out of obligation and responsibility. All this busyness fills our days. When our days are filled with these things, our minds are filled with them as well. Our thoughts of Jesus get placed to the side and we forget to go back to Him. I sit down to write and I see I have new emails I need to read, so I place my Bible to the side and read through my emails. Then my phone rings and I feel the need to answer it. Then Jasper, our family dog, needs to go outside to potty so I go downstairs and let him out. Then I realize the clothes in the dryer are ready to be folded so I fold them. Do you get where I’m going here? We have good intentions to focus on Jesus and then things happen.
My husband and I recently went to MD Anderson for his annual check-up and pet scan. These return trips back to his doctor always bring our thoughts back to when he was there to get his stem cell transplant. At that time we had to focus on Jesus alone, there was no other option. We find ourselves asking each year that we go back, “Why can’t we focus on Jesus all throughout the year? Why do we forget so quickly about Him?” Throughout my husband’s cancer journey, there were days that all we could do was focus and rely on Jesus. I did not realize this when he was first diagnosed, but it was a time in my life where I focused on Jesus more than ever and my husband would say the same thing. He says that he misses the days when he was sick because He felt God’s presence more during that time than any other time in his life. I know that may sound strange, but he misses his focus on Jesus.
I think that in order for us to appreciate the times our focus is on Jesus, we need to know what is so great about having our total focus on Him. Hebrews 12:1 talks about us running our race in life with endurance. This life that is set before us. That means whatever this life has given you, whether it be a disability, addiction, abuse, divorce, mental illness, cancer, financial problems, or any other problem that is brining you struggles and setbacks. Life is not easy, but we are called to persevere knowing that Jesus is at the finish line. Jesus, who walked the road we’re walking down, is awaiting believers. Jesus, who endured persecution, rejection, abuse, and even death, is our prize at the end of our long journey. We are to run this race of endurance with our eyes fixed on Jesus because He is the author and perfecter of our faith. An author is the creator of something. Jesus was the beginning of our faith in the truth that we will be rewarded for our perseverance. He began this faith in our hearts. He is also the perfecter, meaning He is the finisher of our faith. He started us on our journey of faith and He will see it to completion. He is the beginning and the end.
Fixing our eyes on Jesus makes everything around us seem dull and dim. Jesus’ truth, love, compassion, guidance, peace, and mercy are in clear sight when we focus on Him. The minute we look to the world, all we see is anguish, sadness, anger, fear, hopelessness, and loss. The world brings us a sort of spiritual amnesia. When our focus is on the world, our thoughts are void of Jesus and His truths. There is a quote by Jennie Allen I have shared with you before. She says, “As long as you are looking to your left and right…it’s real difficult to take much ground. Eyes to the front! Fixed on God. Fixed on your lane.” That quote is so true. If we are looking around us instead of up, we aren’t going to accomplish much or find much peace. Focusing our eyes on Jesus is the only way. What we meditate on is what we will magnify.
When I get off focus this verse always brings me back to Jesus. I know I have written on this subject a few times, but it is so important. Maybe I need to continually remind myself to focus on Jesus. This verse reminds me that I cannot hear Him, answer His call, accomplish the goals He has placed in my heart, or praise Him if my thoughts are not on Him. As I write, I have to focus on what He is saying to me. I cannot do this without Jesus guiding me with each word. Jesus began a good work in us. May we focus on Him until He has completed His work in us and we receive Him as our prize in the end.
Digging Deeper:
Read Hebrews 12:1-3
What distracts you from focusing on Jesus?
How are you different when you are focused on Jesus and when you are not?
How can you bring your focus back to Jesus each day?