Waking up on Christmas morning when you’re five years old is already a magical moment. I can vividly remember the moment I ran downstairs and found a brand new Barbie bike waiting for me next to the Christmas tree- I will never forget that moment! All I could think about was flying down my street at lightning speeds while my glittering purple bike sparkled and pink streamers blew by in the wind. However, these first few hopeful moments on my new bike were so easily forgotten when I took my first big fall after hitting a pebble on the sidewalk. I quickly realized this would take practice and that learning to ride a bike isn’t about how much sparkle and shine your bike has. Learning to ride a bike is about practicing every day to be better than the day before.
This was a small lesson that applies not just to riding a bike, but our spiritual lives as well. The only way to get where you hope to be, is to first look where you want to go. From learning how to ride a bike to knowing how to pay the bills, what draws and maintains our attention will determine the path we walk. If we look to Jesus, He guides us on our path. If we allow our hearts to be drawn to the beauty of our Creator, the kindness of our Friend in Jesus, the compassion of our Savior, the majesty of our Lord, then we will walk closer to Him. In James 4:8 we are promised that as we“draw near to God, he will draw near to you.”
In this season especially, we are all faced with the temptation to fix our eyes on the immense fear that has gripped our world. Every day we could make the choice to be scared of the unknown, be angry with the current circumstances, and be anxious about the future. If we keep our eyes on what makes us afraid, we will reap fruit of fear, anxiety, sadness, and worry. But if we fix our eyes on Jesus, we see that our circumstances don’t determine the fruit of our lives.
Fixing our eyes on Jesus is a choice that bears the weight of eternity, and is a choice that we must make every day. Practically, this looks like turning to God’s word for truth over living in fear, or spending time in prayer over allowing anxious thoughts to overwhelm our minds. Choosing to be lead by God is an every day practice just like riding a bike. If we aren’t looking to Him everyday, how can we expect for Him to draw near to us?
My challenge to you this week, is to begin each day with the Lord. Practice spending each morning asking God to help you fix your mind on Him before anything else. If we all know that feeding our bodies a good breakfast is the best decision we can make to feed ourselves physically, imagine what could happen to the paths of each of our days if we choose to give our attention to the Lord first. If we want to walk closer to God we must remember to look where we want to go.
-OLIVIA SCHMELTER