Looking Up

Tonight I told my daughter to go into the bathroom and put toothpaste on her toothbrush, and that I'd be there in a minute to help her with her teeth. When I arrived in the bathroom, I found her sitting on the counter.

Me: How did you get up there?
E: I climbed!
Me: What did you climb on?
E: The toilet and then onto the counter.
Me: Did you step on the toilet paper holder again?
E: No! I didn't do that. I just put my knee on the counter and got up here.
Me: Do you think that was dangerous? Or not dangerous?
E: Not dangerous. Well, when I was climbing and I was looking up, it did not seem dangerous to me. When I looked down, then it looked dangerous.

While this first struck me as amusing, it was as though God tapped me on the shoulder and showed me the truth in her statement. Was her actual journey any different depending on where she looked? Was the presence of danger different when looking down? No. The situation remained unchanged. The difference was in her perspective - her chosen place to fix her gaze. When she was looking up, everything was fine.

This encounter (on a counter…haha) reminded me of the story in the Bible when Peter started walking on water toward Jesus. As long as Peter's eyes were on Jesus, Peter was walking on water. As soon as Peter's eyes left Jesus and focused on his surroundings (middle of a large body of water during a storm), he began to sink. The water, the storm, Peter's sandals, his natural ability to walk or sink - none of those changed. They weren't the deciding factor. All that mattered is where he placed - and kept - his focus.

You probably know where this is going :)

How well Sandy weathers this storm will depend solely and entirely upon where she fixes her gaze. I'm not saying her healing is dependent on where she focuses, but rather that her peace and joy depend upon it.

A friend sent me a text today with Isaiah 26:3
"You will keep in perfect peace those whose minds are steadfast, because they trust in you."

It isn't our job to keep ourselves in perfect peace. Our job is to keep our minds steadfastly on God, trusting Him. God promises, then, to keep us in perfect peace. Whenever peace begins to wane, we can look up.

Because, remember, things don't seem so dangerous when we're looking up.