EYES ON THE MASTER
My dog Chloe doesn’t always mind so well. When company comes over, she leaps on them, her tongue flicking at light speed in an attempt to French kiss our guests. I’ve tried to break her of this annoying habit, but to no avail. Surprisingly though, I’ve successfully trained her to obey a much more difficult command.
Directing Chloe to “sit,” I place a piece of meat on the floor right in front of her and order her to “wait.” She remains as motionless as a stone, until I say, “OK.” She then gobbles it as voraciously as a hyena on a carcass. It’s interesting. She can’t restrain herself from jumping on guests but finds the strength to resist a delicious morsel of meat.
Then I noticed something. As Chloe sits on the floor facing the meat, she doesn’t look at it. Instead, she fixes her eyes on me, her master, until I give her the word to eat.
That got me thinking. When we face struggles and temptations, how often do we focus on what we’re hoping not to do? Perhaps like Chloe, we need to set our gaze on our Master Jesus. Remember when Peter tried walking on water? As long as he kept his eyes on Jesus, he could operate in the supernatural. But the moment he looked at his struggles, he sank like a rock (Matthew 14:30). Psalms 123:2 puts it this way. “As the eyes of servants look to the hand of their master, as the eyes of a maid to the hand of her mistress, so our eyes look to the LORD our God.”
As we prepare for the new year ahead, what better time to begin practicing this discipline? To continually bring our focus back onto the face of our Master Jesus. As we go through each day, and our minds are distracted by the “meat” of this world, let’s deliberately turn our thoughts toward him. We’ll experience amazing peace and the journey will be so much sweeter. And when Satan dangles his “meat” in front of us, we won’t be pulled away, because all we can see is the face of Jesus.
What fear, struggle or weakness am I focusing on in my mind?
How can I turn my eyes upon Jesus in the midst of these difficulties?
“Lord Jesus, you are the answer to everything I need. When I become distracted by the concerns of this world, turn my eyes toward you.”