During her annual checkup, our daughter was asked to cover her left eye and read the letters on the chart ahead. When told to cover the right eye and read what she could, the nurse and I burst into laughter. There stood Caroline with a hand over each eye and a puzzled look on her face. Presently, you and I may desire a similar posture. However, covering our eyes isn’t going to help—and remember, we’re not supposed to touch our faces!
This being the year 20/20, we have an even more regular reminder of the importance of having healthy vision. The continuing onslaught of distressing news surrounding the coronavirus pandemic can easily blind believers to the comfort found in God’s Word. Thus, we must recall the time-tested wisdom of Hebrews 12:2a (CSB) and “[keep] our eyes on Jesus.”
Remember when Peter and his 11 pals were huddled in a boat, rocking wildly on a stormy sea? Though they had just witnessed the miracle of Jesus feeding over 5,000 men with only five loaves and two fish, flashes of lightning and looming waves now filled their vision. When a ghostly figure suddenly appeared, walking on the churning water, Peter cried out in terror. But that’s when he heard a welcome voice say, “Take courage. I am here” (Matt. 14:27b, NLT).
The comforting voice came from Jesus. The one who can calm storms with a word was offering an invitation to Peter to enter His peace. At this development, Peter took a deep breath, and his confidence soared to the point that he stepped onto the sea to be closer to Jesus. “But when he [again] saw the strong wind and the waves,” Scripture reports, “he … began to sink” (Matt. 14:30). Peter discovered that when we take our eyes off Jesus to ponder our tumultuous circumstances anew, we start to go under.
Right now, it seems we are tossed on a turbulent sea of bad news and scary unknowns. But if we’ll turn away from the media and instead pick up our Bibles, we’ll find wonderful comfort and hope. After all, Jesus promised, “I am with you always, even to the end of the age” (Matt. 28:20b, MEV). “Don’t worry about anything,” Philippians 4:6-7a, c (NLT) says, “instead, pray about everything. … Then you will experience God’s peace.”
Ultimately, “God causes everything”—even coronavirus—”to work together for the good of those who love [Him]” (Rom. 8:28b). May nothing distract us from fixing our eyes on the Lord. {eoa}
Tara McClary Reeves is a wife, mother, daughter, sister, patriot, award-winning children’s book author, speaker and passionate teacher of the joys and challenges that come with being a committed follower of Jesus Christ. She is also the author of Point Me to Jesus. Tara lives in Williamsburg, Virginia, with her husband, Lee, and their three children. She considers it a privilege to point her own children—and others—to Jesus every day.
