Eyes On The Prize Violet…..Eyes On The Prize!

It’s crazy times, right?
If you look around at all that’s going on, you can’t help but shake your head and say “what the heck!”
Well, that’s what I say anyway!

There seems to be confusion, division, depression, anger, outrage, uproar, frustration and a million more emotions that are rising up in people.

I wrote about the heartbreak I feel a couple of weeks ago (you can read that here if you missed it) but the honest truth is, lately I felt myself getting sucked into the craziness!

I found myself starting to obsess about covid numbers, and not missing a press conference in case I missed some small piece of information that would (once again) change my world. I checked news sites regularly throughout the day to see the latest developments and would wait with bated breath each day for new numbers.

The funny thing was, social media was doing my head in with negative people and the conspiracy theories floating around. With people spewing forth their opinions and the division it was causing I have been staying off social media so I wouldn’t get sucked in……but I got sucked in by a different strategy of the enemy!

At first, I told myself it was okay because it wasn’t gossip, it was facts, and facts are okay, right? I was being diligent in keeping up with the news! But as I was spending time with God the other morning (after I had checked the news sites first, sorry God!) He said to me “Where are your eyes being drawn to? Are you trusting in the world or are you trusting me and my word?”

Ouch!
As I sat and repented, I realized how easy it is to take our eyes off Jesus, because the world is screaming louder at us.

One of my favorite movies is Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. Probably because it has Jonny Depp in it, but also there are so many one-liners that have meaning far above what we initially hear. My kids always mock me about how I can see Jesus in mainstream movies, but he’s there if you look for Him!

Anyway, in Charlie and the chocolate factory, there is a girl called Violet, and she and her mother are both very driven to win, no matter the cost. At one stage in the movie when Violet gets a little distracted but what others around her are doing, her mother reminds her “Eyes on the prize Violet, eyes on the prize.”

And as I sat at the feet of Jesus, I felt Him say the same thing to me “Eyes on the prize Kathy, Eyes on the prize. Do not be distracted by what others around you are doing.”
And what is the prize…..Jesus of course! An eternal life of beauty with Him. And until that day, the prize is to glorify Him in all that I do. That His name would be made famous on the earth, and that I would bring glory to His name.

Just like Violet, I was getting distracted from what I am called to do. Taking my eyes off Jesus, even for a moment, caused me to lose sight of what was important and to elevate something above Him. 

And so this week, my eyes are back on Him. Sure, I am still watching what is happening in the world, but it is not my focus and I am not obsessing over it like I was. His word, His promises, and His ways are my focus. I can’t necessarily change what is happening but I can change my focus back on Him.

My prayer this week has been that I become so obsessed with Jesus that He is all I see, all I want, and all I need!