Hebrews 12 : 2 « fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith. For the joy set before him he endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God»
Matthew 14 : 28-30 « “Lord,
if it’s you,” Peter replied, “tell me to come to you on the water.” “Come,” he
said. Then Peter got down out of the boat, walked on the water and came toward
Jesus. 30 But when he saw the wind, he was afraid and, beginning to sink, cried
out, “Lord, save me!”»
Isaiah 45 : 22 « Turn
to me and be saved, all you ends of the earth; for I am God, and there is no
other.»
The stability of
our faith in God depends on what we expose our minds to, for we believe in a
God our eyes have not seen. We haven't had the great opportunity that the
disciples had to be constantly with God through the divine dimension of Jesus. So, our faith depends on what feeds our
spirit. Is it nourished by the revelations of the Holy Spirit or by the things
around us? Whatever period we consider:
Old Covenant or New Covenant, the Bible is replete with examples of
destabilized faith; and consequently, of lives turned away from God's way as
soon as people's minds turn away from God. The Bible insists in several verses
on the need to keep our eyes fixed on God and on the consequences that befall
us when we turn our eyes away from Him. These are perfectly illustrated in the
Gospel of Matthew, which tells us the story of Peter, who nearly drowned the
moment he took his eyes off Jesus and let the fear of the waves take over
(Matthew 14:24-33). But what exactly do the verses quoted at the beginning of
this text recommend? How can we keep our eyes fixed on God, whom we cannot
physically see? We'll try to answer these questions in the following few lines.
The various ways
in which this admonition is expressed in these verses provide a clear
understanding of what we must do to avoid turning our eyes away from God.
1. Be attentive to the voice of the Holy Spirit in your life.
1 Corinthians 2 :
9-10 « However, as it is written: “What no eye has seen, what no ear has
heard, and what no human mind has conceived”[b]— the things God has prepared
for those who love him—these are the things God has revealed to us by his
Spirit.»
The Holy Spirit has several important roles
in the life of the believer: He teaches, He guides, He reveals the hidden
things of God, He edifies. To be effective in all of these roles, mastery of
the subject matter is indeed essential. But who masters the things of God but
the Holy Spirit? (Psalm 32:8) The Holy Spirit fulfills all these roles by
communicating with our minds in a variety of ways: through our conscience, that
persistent thought that aligns with the Word of God, the inspiration of a Bible
verse that edifies us, etc. But this teaching cannot be understood by a
rebellious spirit, where unbelief, carnal things, and the teachings of this
world reign. Our minds must be available to God, open to the Holy Spirit, and
willing to learn. (1 Corinthians 2 : 14 « The person without
the Spirit does not accept the things that come from the Spirit of God but
considers them foolishness, and cannot understand them because they are
discerned only through the Spirit.»). In this context, we must
maintain perfect intimacy with the Holy Spirit, to the point of discerning His
voice among thousands of others, in order to keep our eyes fixed on God.
2. Meditation on the word of God
Joshua 1 : 8 « Keep
this Book of the Law always on your lips; meditate on it day and night, so that
you may be careful to do everything written in it. Then you will be prosperous
and successful.»
Meditating on God's Word is important to
nourish our minds with His thoughts. His mind cannot be guessed. It must be
revealed through meditation on the Word of God written in the Bible. As we said in one of our articles, only light
can dispel darkness. So the lies and false doctrines of this world that
destabilize our faith and distance us from God can only be refuted with the
Word of God. Only Light Can Give Light. (Luke 24 : 45 « Then he opened their
minds so they could understand the Scriptures. »). Here, keeping our
eyes on God means keeping His Word in our minds, constantly meditating on it to
prevent the doctrines of this world from taking hold over and corrupting our
minds.
3. Spending time with God in prayer
James 4 : 8 « Come
near to God and he will come near to you. Wash your hands, you sinners, and
purify your hearts, you double-minded.»
How can we not lose sight of someone or something when it's not in our field of vision? In this case, it is about an invisible God who has given us the key to staying in His presence: through prayer. Spending more time with God means spending less time satisfying the flesh and more time nourishing the spirit. In fact, the more time you spend with someone, the more you tend to share the same mindset, the same values, the same behavior. In our case, God's Spirit is superior to ours, so it is we who are influenced by God and tend toward a perfect imitation of Jesus. In God's presence, the world no longer has a hold on us because our minds are in total submission to God's. The flesh is silent, and the Spirit takes over. In this sense, keeping our eyes on God inevitably means spending time with Him in prayer. The more we distance ourselves from the world in prayer, the closer we come to God, and the less our thoughts can be influenced and disturbed by the things of this world.
Matthew 16: 24 « Then Jesus said to his disciples, “Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me.»
Psalm 37: 4 « Take delight in the Lord, and he will give you the desires of your heart. »
Matthew 16: 26 « What good
will it be for someone to gain the whole world, yet forfeit their soul? Or what
can anyone give in exchange for their soul? »