Set Your Eyes Higher - a 5 Day PlanSample

I am a classic oldest sister. I am so used to being followed that when others don’t follow my lead, I find it disorienting. The same is true of the advice I give to others. I find it difficult to remain cool when people ask for my advice and do not follow it. No one knows this better than my younger sister, Haley. I do not hold my tongue when I think she’s chosen the wrong shoes or overdone it on her eyebrows. I’ve also spoken up, loudly, when I thought she had room to grow spiritually.

During a particularly tough season of her life, I was quick to offer my blueprint for fixing her life. My attempts to help were unsuccessful and only caused further discouragement and disruption in our relationship. I felt like a failure.

I became so tired of trying to help her. Amid my burnout, I tried something wild: I started praying. And you know what? The more I prayed for her, the more I genuinely desired that she would flourish. My anxiety dissipated, trusting that God was at work in my sister’s life. He who began a good work in her was carrying it to completion (Philippians 1:6), and her flourishing had little to do with me and my best efforts.

Paul wanted people to change, too. He desperately wanted people to receive the gospel and to follow Jesus. When he wanted to see change, he leaned on prayer.

Paul was so committed to praying for the Colossians because he understood that the changing of hearts was God’s work. Walking “in a manner worthy of the Lord,” as Paul put it, was the fruit of knowing God, not the result of being bullied into submission by a well-meaning sister. God, it turns out, is the One cultivating the fruit—not me.

Prayer corrected my beliefs about my own capacity and renewed my energy to support my sister. When I set my heart on her good, I surrendered my misguided efforts to fix her; I found peace in knowing God would do the work that only He is able to do.

Prayer

Lord, use me to draw in others, and correct me when I push others away. I am setting my eyes on Your redemptive power, surrendering my anxiety about my loved ones into Your hands. Amen.