Fix Your Eyes On Jesus
by Barbara Chadwick

I fell in love with Kenneth when I was 12 years old. He was six years older than me. He was my knight in shining armor. He was, in my mind, going to do wonderful things, accomplish a lot and provide my every whim!

He has done some wonderful things and accomplished a lot but providing my every whim? Well, let's just say it didn't happen.

Of course, I was disappointed when things turned out differently than my teeage mind had supposed. All the books I had read ended like Cinderella where you know that the prince will make her happy.

One day Kenneth said, "You know, you shouldn't expect me to make you happy. No one can do that. Only you can make you happy. That is a decision you make in your mind. God can help." Well, Of course, I knew he must be wrong. He didn't know everything! Although, up to that point I had supposed he knew everything.

Well, as time passed I discovered that his statement was true. Don't you just hate that when they're right?

I began to see people who put their faith in a pastor or some other leader and when that person wasn't perfect - made some mistake - their faith faltered. They quit attending church and became discouraged, even bitter. Their focus was in the wrong place.

We read in Hebrews 12:1-2, ... let us lay aside every weight and the sin that so easily ensnares us, and run with endurance the race that lies before us, keeping our eyes on Jesus...(HCSB) The NIV translation says, Let us fix our eyes on Jesus...

I'm reminded of a two-year-old at an Easter egg hunt. You've probably all seen this: running to gather up the eggs, he takes his eyes off the egg to look at another child also running toward the egg. He trips, falls down, scrapes his knee and then begins to cry.

Lots of things ensnare us. Watching other people is one of them. But if our focus is on other people or even upon self, we can't see God's direction or hear His voice. Only in Christ can we have joy, happiness, and the abundant life.

Fix your eyes on Jesus. Never waver.