Look to the Lord and His strength; seek His face always.

1 Chronicles 16:11

Amazing. The baseball field is mowed to perfection, I thought, as I waited for the game to begin. Straight lines mowed into a flawless checkerboard pattern captured my full attention. I secretly envy professional mowers. I’ve practiced “striping” my lawns and have learned a few tips on how to achieve the straightest lines possible.

Simple instructions for mowing a straight stripe of grass begin with establishing a distant site line mark. Pick a spot at the far end of the grass area to serve as your site line. Begin mowing, keeping your eyes on the distant spot you’ve chosen. Allow the steering wheel to slightly correct alignment as you go. 

Striving, concentrating harder to perform perfectly, focusing on the mower, and pushing slower do not make a straight line. In fact, these efforts cause a more jagged and sloppy path. My balance is compromised when I don’t look out ahead of me to a designated spot. 

The same principle applies as we approach life. Our spot to choose ahead of us is Jesus. Even during difficult seasons we can keep walking toward Him in faith. He gently leads and guides. Our path is made straight. 

When our eyes are locked onto Jesus, we don’t sink, we don’t compare ourselves with others, and we don’t lose hope.  

Fixing our eyes on Jesus (Hebrews 12:2) is a continuous action. We embrace His character and His ways, since we don’t physically see Him.

Who will take care of my needs while I’m focused on Jesus? As I look to Jesus, I am free to see the needs of others, and mine are supernaturally met as well. Philippians 2:4 states, not looking to your own interests but each of you to the interests of the others. God’s got us covered. 

Father God, may I not become distracted by or fearful of anything that threatens to take my eyes off of You. By faith, I choose to trust You to care for me.

Karen Sims