What are you looking at?

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"Let your eyes look straight ahead, and your eyelids look right before you."  
                                                                                                                     Proverbs 4:25.  NKJV

I once heard a famous British athlete give an interview and during it, he was asked why he always opened his eyes, extremely wide as he looked ahead. He replied that when he did this, he had tunnel vision and he was focusing on the finishing line and not the other athletes who were either side of him at the starting line. To look at them would rob him of his focus and also give the other runners the opportunity to hassle him about how he was going to be beaten. Looking at the finishing line, prepared him for the race and he didn't take his eyes from it.

A horse that pulls a cart or carriage is fitted with blinkers mainly for the same reason. Without the blinkers they are easily distracted if they look around and this can be dangerous for what they are pulling along. If it is people and they turned over, they could be seriously injured; if it was goods, they could be scattered all over the road, and again this could be a danger to life. The horse could also be panicked by such a distraction, therefore, blinkers are used to eradicate this. Possibly, it may be an idea for us to wear blinkers too to help us to remain focused on what's ahead instead of looking at things that possibly we shouldn't be looking at in the first place.

Philippians 3:14 tells us: 'I press toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.' Paul is encouraging us to focus on the goal ahead - the prize. If we're distracted, we may miss it altogether. Jesus also told His disciples, 'No one, having put his hand to the plough, and looking back, is fit for the kingdom of God.'  (Luke 9:62)

It is so very important that we do not lose our focus. There are many distractions in our day. These can be at work or in the leisure of our evening. Temptation is around every corner. This may be adultery, but it can also be drugs, gambling, spending money that we don't have by using a credit card or anything that demands our attention and takes us away from Jesus. He wants us to enjoy our lives, yes. But not at the risk of adding extra pressures to what we may already have. 

May our eyes look ahead at Jesus, as He guides us through today and every day. Amen.

Copyright 2019 Grahame Howard

dailylifewithjesus@protonmail.com