Fix Your Eyes and Run

Fix Your Eyes and Run is a guest post by Hali Arbes

I ran around my yard barefoot as a kid growing up in the hills of Tennessee. My legs would get covered in mosquito bites and the humidity frizzed out my hair. I’d spend hours outside with my brothers playing games and exploring.

It makes for wonderful memories now. But as far as being an actual runner, I’ve never done it. Never done a marathon or even went on a jog through my neighborhood.

I’m telling you this so you can imagine my surprise when the Lord told me I was a runner participating in a race. It started with a text from my friend.

 The Lord wanted me to tell you something. “Fix your eyes and run.”

Fix Your Eyes and Run

That was a few weeks ago and the Lord reminds me every day that I am in fact running a race called this Christian life, and in order to run it and win I need to keep my eyes locked on Him.

Sometimes He uses a daily devotional or a podcast episode to remind me. He continually points me to the first few verses of Hebrews 12: “…let us run with endurance the race God has set before us. We do this by keeping our eyes on Jesus…”

This isn’t just a reminder for me. If you’re a born again believer, this applies to you as well. But how do you fix your eyes on Jesus, anyways?

It’s not like we can physically stare at Him in front of us, although I know we wish we could. We have to look at Him with the eyes of our soul.

How?

3 Distractions to Be Weary Of

If you’re anything like me, it’s helpful to know there’s a few places to know not to look. If I catch myself dwelling on these things I know I’m not looking at Jesus. It may be different for you, but for me it tends to be my home, career, college experience, or even my family. We all know that those things aren’t sinful in and of themselves, but they can hinder us if they’re what we’re constantly fixing our eyes on.

1.) Distracted by Things

I heard a story of a woman who had a dream that the rapture was happening. She could see other believers around her ascending quickly up into heaven. She herself was ascending too, but slowly. She looked down at her feet and there was a rope around them. Attached to the other end of the rope was her furniture. The Lord used this dream to show her that her love for her furniture was hindering her Christian race.

2.) Distracted by Sin

We also shouldn’t keep our eyes on anything that is just plain sinful. The direction of our lives is determined by what we look at. People that are new to driving motorcycles are told to not look at wrecks that they drive past because they subconsciously will steer towards it and crash as well.

It’s not that God is waiting to zap you if you get distracted by sin, but He wants you to run this race well and victoriously, free from bondage.

3.) Distracted by Ourselves

Another place to not fix our eyes is on ourselves. I may not be a runner, but I know that if you’re staring at your own legs you’ll trip and fall. I like to analyze, criticize, dissect, and overthink my thoughts, emotions, and shortcomings.

It’s good to be self-aware to an extent, but Jesus had to show me that I was only looking internally instead of to the One who could really help me overcome my sin struggles. There are no answers to my problems inside of myself. If there were, there would’ve been no need for Jesus to die on the cross.

Related Post: Running Our Race

3 Ways to Focus on Jesus

To shift my eyes from these things to Jesus there are simple things I do that I encourage you to try as well.

1.) Worship Music

I listen to worship music. Not just for the fifteen minutes I’m in the car on my way to the store, but in my home as much as I possibly can. I love music and it strengthens my emotional connection to God.

2.) Bible Teachings

I listen to Bible teachings or I will play a Christian podcast on Spotify. I need His Word richly dwelling in me.

3.) Prayer

I pray. I prefer to write in my prayer journal, but if things are chaotic I hide myself in the bathroom from my toddler and send a cry for help to Jesus. Sometimes I’ll have a sushi date with the Lord, where I’ll grab a tray of sushi and sit parked at my church and just talk to Him. It’s our thing, a unique and yummy way we spend time together.

These things aren’t legalistic requirements. God isn’t going to force you to do them. Nowhere in the Bible does it say, “You must play worship music all day.” But they are practices that will help us keep our eyes locked onto Jesus.

And while we’re doing these things, we not only have our eyes on the Lord, but we are naturally running to Him. These activities and mindsets can help us to actively pursue our loving Savior, Who is at the finish line cheering you and I on.

Jesus does not want us to run this Christian race aimlessly in circles, falling every other step. He wants much better for us. He wants our gaze to be secure and our legs steady and strong. He wants us to fix our eyes on Him and run well!

Meet the Hali Arbes

I’m Hali, a 22 year old SAHM. I like writing, coffee, and taking lots of naps.