Set Your Eyes

“Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. ³Consider him who endured such opposition from sinful men, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart.” Hebrews 12:2-3

A Little Climbing Adventure with Matt and Jen

Determined to find a way up the rock, I forged through bushes and trees.  I found myself standing on a little tree trying to pull myself up and over.  I could see the footholds and handholds clearly before me.  The way was set.  Yet, I hesitated.  I attempted, but lost my footing and thought I might not quite possess enough upper body strength with slippery footholds.  Discouraged, I tried again.  I talked myself out of a third attempt and fought back through the tangled mess I came through.  We almost moved on to another rock until Matt saw that another way looked promising.  With the sting of defeat fresh on my mind, I pushed forward through more brush.  My legs regretting the choice of my green shorts the entire way.  Whacking a few branches, getting hit in the face with one, and crawling under a tree culminated in being able to step and jump onto the rock quite easily.  Eventually, all three of us made our way to the top of the rock only to find an amazing crevice on the backside.  Of course, Matt decides to go down this way instead of going back the way we came. He gets down fairly easily and then asks us to come down.  I whip out the “Are you kidding me? Do you know how far of a drop that is?” look and then proceed to stare down not moving.  Then Jen out of nowhere decides to go down.  I’m still skeptical even after she gets down.  Yet, at this point, I’m the only one left.  I have scared myself by staring at the obstacles to either side rather than focusing on the rock.  Eventually, I make a decision to focus on each step in front of me rather than looking down.  I get down only to wonder why I ever worried about the drop.  If I had focused on the things to the side instead of the steps I needed to take in front of me, I would have missed out on exploring the crevice like cave and finding a new way out with the encouragement as well as help of those with me.

Oftentimes, I act this way with God.  I see all the big scary “what-ifs” rather than focusing on Him and the steps I need to take each day.  I look too far ahead only to scare myself.  I discredit the voices around me or worse yet refuse their help and encouragement.  Though, as I said here, I’m learning to trust all over again and I’m waiting.  Waiting, trusting and resting in Him.