Fix Your Eyes On Jesus
Posted on May 4, 2018 by America's Keswick in Victory Call
There is a major highway close by that I must travel many times. It has those concrete barriers to block off road construction. There are even areas along the road where there are what people call cattle-chutes. You know, where there are barriers on both sides that you must drive through for a mile or so. They are not my favorite. It reminds me of some great advice that my husband gave me. Years back, I was driving on a road that had these concrete barriers to separate the lanes. I kept looking at the barrier and even almost hit one. My husband said that in order not to sway into it, I needed to keep my eyes looking ahead. I needed to look at the car in front of me or look further down the road. No one had ever told me that. When I took that advice, it made it so easy to keep straight on the road.
At the time I thought that it would make a great Bible illustration. We need to keep our eyes straight on Jesus. Do you remember the time when the disciples were in the boat and they saw Jesus walking on the water? (Matthew 14: 22-33) Peter asked if he could go to Jesus on the water. Jesus told him to come. Peter got out of the boat and started walking toward Jesus. Then, he started to notice the wind and waves around him. He took his eyes off Jesus and began to sink. Jesus reached out and took hold of his hand. Then, they walked back together to the boat.
I can see Jesus saying to us, “Come this way, follow me.” Hebrews 12: 2 tells us to fix our eyes on Jesus. What makes us take our eyes off Jesus? Many times, we allow our circumstances to sidetrack us. We look at what is happening around us and start to sink, maybe into depression. If we are ill, we may concentrate on the pain and forget that Jesus is holding out His hand and saying, “Take hold of My hand, I will walk with you through this trial.” Whatever we may be going through, Jesus is there waiting for us to look to Him with eyes of faith. Are you going through some type of trial right now? Are you looking at Jesus? Are you taking hold of His hand that is reaching out to grab hold of you and help you?
Here is a Fanny Crosby song that I had never heard before, the music is by Hubert Platt Main:
Hold Thou my hand: so weak I am, and helpless;
I dare not take one step without Thy aid.
Hold Thou my hand: for then, O Loving Savior,
No dread of ill shall make my soul afraid.Hold Thou my hand: and closer, closer draw me
To Thy dear self, my hope, my joy, my all;
Hold Thou my hand: lest haply I should wander,
And missing Thee, my trembling feet should fall.Hold Thou my hand: the way is dark before me
Without the sunlight of Thy face divine;
But when by faith I catch its radiant glory,
What heights of joy, what rapturous songs are mine.
Written by Denise Zambrano: Denise loves to teach the Bible and sing. She teaches a women’s Bible study and a high school Sunday School class. Along with her daughter, Linda, she is an advocate at A Baby’s Breath (a crisis pregnancy center). She loves being a grandmother to Tim, Becky, Alexander and William (who is with Jesus). She was a missionary with Radio Station HCJB in Quito, Ecuador for 35 years.