Something Greater

There are so many distractions in this life…so many things competing for our attention. Yes, we must make a living. Yes, we must care for our loved ones. Yes, we must fulfill our responsibilities. But, somewhere along the way, we get lost in it all…we forget where we’re headed…we forget the plan and the destination that God is leading us to.

Just the other day, I spent a few minutes in the presence of the Lord. I was overwhelmed by the pressures of life. I told Him that I needed Him to cover me, and that I needed His peace to surround me. And His response was unexpected. Instead of addressing my anxiety, He reminded me of the vision that He had given me. He showed me where I’m headed, and He told me that I had lost sight of this. I had been so focused on the here and now…so focused on what needs to be taken care of in the moment. But He told me to lift my eyes. There are things much more important than what I can see right now.

That is why we never give up. Though our bodies are dying, our spirits are being renewed every day. For our present troubles are small and won’t last very long. Yet they produce for us a glory that vastly outweighs them and will last forever! So we don’t look at the troubles we can see now; rather, we fix our gaze on things that cannot be seen. For the things we see now will soon be gone, but the things we cannot see will last forever. (2 Corinthians 4:16‭-‬18 NLT)

The troubles of life are unavoidable, but that doesn’t mean that they have to consume us.

“…I have told you all this so that you may have peace in me. Here on earth you will have many trials and sorrows. But take heart, because I have overcome the world.” (John 16:33 NLT)

Every second of every day, we have a choice to make. Will we focus on the cares of this world? Or will we fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith?

Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a huge crowd of witnesses to the life of faith, let us strip off every weight that slows us down, especially the sin that so easily trips us up. And let us run with endurance the race God has set before us. We do this by keeping our eyes on Jesus, the champion who initiates and perfects our faith. Because of the joy awaiting him, he endured the cross, disregarding its shame. Now he is seated in the place of honor beside God’s throne. (Hebrews 12:1‭-‬2 NLT)

Jesus is our example, and He is the one that we must turn to in this life. If we desire to accomplish the will of God, bringing glory to His name, we must follow His lead. So what did Jesus do? How was He able to fulfill his purpose on the earth? Well, the obvious reason is that He is God. But, I want us to remember that He gave up his divine privileges, in order to become human like you and me.

Though he was God, he did not think of equality with God as something to cling to. Instead, he gave up his divine privileges; he took the humble position of a slave and was born as a human being. When he appeared in human form, he humbled himself in obedience to God and died a criminal’s death on a cross. (Philippians 2:6‭-‬8 NLT)

What does this mean for us? It means that He wasn’t all that different. He had worries. He felt pain. He was tempted. He was betrayed. But despite living the human life, He was able to live a perfect life and endure the cross. How? According to Hebrews, He fixed his eyes on something much greater…the joy of what His sacrifice would mean to humanity.

If we want to finish our race. We must fix our eyes on something greater than ourselves.

The finish line for Jesus was the cross. What is your finish line? Has God given you a vision to benefit the Kingdom of Heaven? Has He shown you how your life will help others in the future? Or maybe you don’t have the vision yet. If this is the case…where did He rescue you from? Is He healing you? Restoring you? I want you to know that from that place, He will bring glory to His name. But, we must trust Him in the process. We must allow Him to shape us…prepare us…equip us. And we must not allow ourselves to get distracted along the way.

The worries and pressures of life are distractions…they slow us down. And according to Hebrews 12, we must strip off every weight that slows us down, if we want to finish our race, as Jesus did. But, I want to take a moment to acknowledge that our trials are real. They are painful. They are difficult to accept and deal with at times. I am not suggesting that we ignore these things. We should try our best to work through them. We should seek the will of God and the power of God in every situation. But, again, we must not allow our struggles to consume us. We must keep our eyes fixed on Jesus and whatever He’s called us to do instead.

Why is this so important?

In the book of 1 Peter, we learn that the enemy “prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour.” He’s looking to catch someone off guard…to find someone that’s distracted. This is why the scripture says that we must stay alert. But how can we stay alert, when we’re distracted by life?

Stay alert! Watch out for your great enemy, the devil. He prowls around like a roaring lion, looking for someone to devour. Stand firm against him, and be strong in your faith. Remember that your family of believers all over the world is going through the same kind of suffering you are. (1 Peter 5:8‭-‬9 NLT)

We must understand how the enemy works, because he seeps through the subtle details of our lives. He waits to catch us at the most opportune time…when we’re stressed about how things will work out…when we’re worried about what tomorrow will bring. It starts with just one thought of concern in our minds. It starts with just one moment of doubt. But the enemy seeks to turn that one moment into an entire day. And before we know it, we’re spending days, weeks, months, and years in this negative cycle. This is how the enemy keeps us from walking in purpose.

The enemy’s goal is to prevent us from furthering the Kingdom of God.

We must remember this, and we must counteract his tactics by doing what scripture says. We must stand firm against him. We must be strong in our faith. And this begins in our minds.

We are human, but we don’t wage war as humans do. We use God’s mighty weapons, not worldly weapons, to knock down the strongholds of human reasoning and to destroy false arguments. We destroy every proud obstacle that keeps people from knowing God. We capture their rebellious thoughts and teach them to obey Christ. (2 Corinthians 10:3‭-‬5 NLT)

There’s nothing wrong with having doubt. There’s nothing wrong with feeling the fear that comes from difficult life experiences. But when those thoughts arise, we must take them captive. We must replace those negative thoughts with what the word of God says about the situation. This is how we teach our thoughts to obey Christ. This is how we train our minds to think in faith.

When we take rebellious thoughts captive, we block the enemy from working in our situations.

Every day we spend worrying is a day that we aren’t walking in purpose. Every week, month, and year we spend in this negative cycle, is valuable time lost. Today, we must make the decision to strip off every weight that’s slowing us down, so that we can run towards something greater than ourselves.

God has an amazing plan that involves our stories. He has a finish line for us. But if we are to reach that finish line, we must pick up our weapons and fight back. We have a choice. We can choose faith and hope. We can choose to trust God in the midst of whatever’s going on in our lives. When we trust Him, and leave our cares at the foot of the cross, He gives us the peace that we need to face whatever we’re going through….He is the one that enables us to do what He’s called us to do.

Prayer

Heavenly Father, thank you for allowing me to be a part of your amazing plan. Thank you for reminding me that I have a purpose, and a unique part to play in your beautiful story. Today, I have been reminded that every distraction prevents me from walking in the plan that you have for me. So today, I am making the decision to take my eyes off of my circumstances. I am making the decision to fight for my purpose. I will not allow my thoughts to control my life. I will not allow the enemy to prevent me from doing what you have called me to do. Instead I will fight back with the word of God, taking every rebellious thought captive, and teaching them to obey Christ. I have faith that you are with me. I believe that you are for me. And I trust that you will enable me to live the life you have for me. I love you, Father. In Jesus’ name, amen.