Turn Your Eyes Upon Jesus

This is a classic hymn that is sung in many churches. The chorus simply goes:
Turn your eyes upon Jesus/ look full in His wonderful face;
And the things of earth will grown strangely dim/ in the light of His glory and grace.

What does this song tell us? It tells us that we should keep our eyes upon Jesus. You might think that that’s a no-brainer, but how many Christians know to do this but don’t. When we set our minds upon Jesus, then the problems of this world will seem trivial. This is because when we focus on Him, 1) we realize that there is nothing that He can’t handle and 2) we realize the futility of worrying about ‘stuff’.

Don’t get me wrong, I know that your ‘stuff’ is important to you as is my ‘stuff’’ to me. The thing that we must not forget is that the 'stuff' we worry about won’t likely be an issue 10 years from now. (I’m sure you don’t remember what you were worried about 10 years ago.) It certainly won’t be an issue a million years from now. So what is the benefit of worrying? If you can’t do anything about the problem or you’ve done all you can about the problem, then worrying about it won’t accomplish anything else. You are accomplishing as much worrying as you are taking a walk without getting out of your chair. Just put the problem in God’s hand and leave it there!

The Holy Spirit gave me the perfect definition for worry—meditating on the problem and not the solution. There is even scripture to support this. Philippians 4:8 says, “Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report; if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these things.” In this passage Paul was telling us about how to get peace—the opposite of worry. Our minds are at peace when follow God’s plan. When we think on the other things, that’s when the stree set in.

Similarly, Jesus said in Matthew 6, when we focus on what we are going to eat and what we are going to wear and where are going to sleep, we are worrying. But when we set our eyes on Jesus, we don’t worry about these things. When we focus on Him, then we trust him even if it means going without or sleeping outdoors. It is better for us to eat bugs and sleep in the mud with God, than to eat lobster and sleep in a palace on a pillow-top mattress without Him.

You might say, ‘Easier said than done.” This is true. We are not patient people and many are not passive people. We have to be doing something. I think this is one reason why women outlive men. Men are Mr. Fix-its. When we can’t fix it, we worry because we need to be doing something but there is nothing to do. Women are wired differently so the desire to fix it isn’t as strong in them, which likely translates into less stress. In any regard, whether you are a male or female, you’ve got to give worry up. The return on your investment isn’t worth it.

When Peter stepped out of the boat, everything was fine as long as He kept his eyes on Jesus. He wasn’t worried about the waves or the laws of physics or anything else. It wasn’t until he took his eyes off Jesus that he began to fall, fret, and flail. Likewise, as long as we keep our eyes upon Jesus, we too will find life abundant and full of peace.