My Eyes Are FixedSample

Life is so much like a race. But it’s not a sprint. It’s a marathon. If you’ve given your life to Jesus, you’re in it for the duration. Every one of us has to run our own race, the race that is set before us. No one else can run my race for me. No one can run your race for you. All the difficulties, sorrows, losses, and joys were written into your story even before you were born. I believe that He did that for everyone who belongs to Him. He is the author. And He is the finisher.

Marathon runners talk a lot about hitting a wall when they’re running. It’s the point in the race where the runner’s stored energy is depleted and there’s nothing left to draw from other than sheer willpower. It’s a sudden attack of fatigue; the legs lose all strength. But if the runner can push through, they report getting a new burst of energy and strength to complete the race. Suffering can be like that wall. You can be running your race at a good speed, and suddenly you are hit with calamity. It threatens to take your breath away and make you stop in your tracks.

In 1965 Ronald Melzack and Patrick Wall suggested that if a person can focus on something outside of their pain, it can lessen their suffering. They called this the Gate Control Theory. Their idea was that pain is transmitted through a gate in the dorsal horn of the spinal cord. If those nerves received different input, the pain would be minimized. So, they figured that if patients were encouraged to think of something pleasurable, those thoughts could almost crowd out thoughts of pain. Mothers during delivery were encouraged to choose a focal point to concentrate on, maybe a song that was uplifting or a verse of Scripture. Children going through painful treatments were encouraged to think about a fun experience, something they looked forward to.

But long before anybody thought of a Gate Control Theory, the writer of Hebrews commended us to Jesus. He said that when we are running our race and we’ve hit the wall of suffering and trial, we should not look back, we should not look at our circumstances, but fix our eyes on Him. The fixing means that we don’t look to the left or to the right. That will distract us. We don’t look back. That will discourage us. We focus forward and lean into Him for strength. He showed us how to run the race of life. And He showed us how to finish well. He fixed His eyes on the joy that waited for Him on the other side of the cross. He gave His body to the nails, to the crown of thorns, to the spike in His side—knowing that victory and joy were waiting on the other side of His suffering. And I believe He says to us: Go and do likewise.