Focus

So many people I love are going through tough things right now—terrible and devastating events that change one’s life forever—that cannot be fixed. Nothing will make it better and as a friend and a family member I just feel helpless.  As I have walked through these things with them in the last few weeks, I read verses about Jesus being our Prince of Peace.  I read this verse too, from Isaiah 26:3, “You will keep in perfect peace, all who trust in you, all whose thoughts are fixed on you.”  I know this fact, but it just hit me again, that in order to feel that peace in the midst of the storm, we have to keep our focus on Him. It happened to Peter–and I understand him more. He began to sink as he walked, because he didn’t keep his thoughts fixed on Jesus. The crashing waves and the howling wind distracted him. It is easy for us to get lost in the soul-crushing agony and the devastating pain.  We don’t understand “why” and we begin to sink in the awfulness of it all–because we take our eyes away from the One who has it all in His hands.  I can’t fix anything for my family and friends—I have no power in these situations–I can only hurt and cry alongside them.  But instead of feeling completely overcome and lost, I can put my focus where it belongs.  Jesus himself said, “I have told you all this so that you may have peace. Here on earth you will have many trials and sorrows. But take heart, because I overcome the world.”  John 16:33