Where are our eyes and feet headed?
I had heard it multiple times, “You are focusing on it too much.” Has anyone ever told you that the water will never boil if you stand there and watch it? Have you ever stared at a clock and wondered what is taking that minute so long to go by? What about resisting a food you know you shouldn’t eat? The longer you stare at it the more you probably wanted to eat it. Ever have an annoyance in your life? I bet the more you dwelt on how annoying it was the worse of a headache it became.
Since we are what we eat, (physically and spiritually speaking), shouldn’t we be watching what we feed ourselves. Physically speaking I guess I must be a chocolate covered banana, dipped in coffee and sprinkled with date slivers. But spiritually speaking, what am I feeding myself? Am I focusing on the news and what’s going on in this world? Am I watching TV and playing video games? Or am I spending time with my family and focusing on Christ? If I do the first I could easily become an anxiety covered selfish sloth, but if I focus on Christ and serving my family, I could allow God to shape me into the image of His Son – my big brother, best friend and role-model!
I read a book on relationships a couple months ago and most of it, like most readings, is forgotten. But two things stood out to me and one of them God has been pressing me to follow after. I have always referred to the wind as my adversary – A Be Still and Run comparison – and would like to go back to it this week.
Is it easier for someone to run into the wind or with their back facing the wind? Obviously it’s the latter. So what does this mean for us as Christians, living in this world of turmoil and confusion? It means to turn our back to the trouble and look at Christ. Turn our back to the devil and run to Jesus. Turn our back to the heartache and focus on our Savior. Turn our back to the uproar all around us and look to God. I have noticed that as I do this, as I turn my back on any evil, any sin, anything of this world, and look to Jesus, focusing my attention on Him, everything else slowly disappears and fades into the background.
We need to use the example of a newly married couple on their wedding day. They are so focused on one another that nothing else around them matters. When they get a photograph taken, most likely the background will be blurred so that people can focus on what is most important in their photo.
One afternoon I decided to try this method out during my run to refresh my memory. Running into the wind took more effort and exertion as I tried to maintain a steady, slow pace. I went about two miles into the wind before turning around and heading back home. Not only was I able to double my pace comfortable, I noticed the wind was pushing me even faster to my final destination. So by turning my back to the wind I got a double whammy; I was able to comfortably and almost effortlessly run, while the adversary was pushing me faster and closer to my goal. The circumstances did not change, but the direction in which I set my eyes and feet did. Do you see the comparison to our lives? If we turn our back to temptation, to sin, to the enemy, and place our eyes on our Savior in Heaven, not only will our journey be more delightful and effortless because we will be allowing God to fight our battles, but the negative will help push us faster and closer to Jesus if we keep Him as our main focus.
I pray we would all be able to turn our back to the wind and focus our eyes on Jesus!
Happy Running ya’ll!
Be Still and Run 