During a challenge with my health I went outside early one morning and the whole backyard was in shade except for one patio stone. I walked over curiously to see where the sun was in the sky. As I gazed toward the sun I noticed that I could see brilliant rays of light that blurred everything in the shade around me. I closed my eyes and focused on the warmth and peace I felt in the sun's presence.
I realized that just like the sun’s visible rays shone on everything in the darkness around it, keeping our eyes on the Son, Jesus, in the midst of our difficulties, makes the darkness feel less prominent. If we take our eyes off of the Son and look around us, our difficulties are easy to see. We can begin to feel overwhelmed and lose our peace from the weight of focusing on them. When we look to Jesus and cling to his loving and faithful character, his presence overpowers everything that is dark. We have the ability to experience his peace even when the darkness is all around us.
Now, when my circumstances are becoming overwhelming and feelings of stress are starting to rise, I close my eyes and imagine Jesus dwelling in brilliant light (1 Timothy 6:16). I put all of my focus on this image and immediately the feelings of stress fade away. There are many other ways that we can keep our eyes on Jesus. Psalm 1:2 tells us that we are blessed when our delight is in the law of the Lord, meditating on it day and night.
Reading the Bible, listening to the Psalms outloud, watching or listening to Bible teachings or listening to worship music, are some of the many ways that we can keep our eyes on Jesus.
A great way to meditate on the Word is to write down Bible passages heard during the day and put them on the kitchen cupboards or somewhere else frequently visited. The more we read God's Word and renew our mind, the more he illuminates the darkness and takes the sting out of our challenges. We can feel warmth and peace in the Son’s presence.
God please help me to keep my eyes on Jesus and allow his presence to shine on the darkness of my struggles so that they feel less prominent.
Song of Encouragement: "Turn Your Eyes Upon Jesus" by The Living Stones Quartet ?si=BzD9_UB-_x9rvEAN
Photo Credit: Matthew Zheng on Unsplash