Learnable Moments For Moms: Devotions To Discover God In The EverydayНамуна

My toddler loves to play chase, except she calls it “catch me.” She loves to chase her daddy around the house, and she loves for him to chase her. While either one of these makes me a little nervous because of the whole running in the house thing, I try to look the other way for the daddy-daughter bonding to take place. 

Inevitably, a game of “catch me” almost always end in the same way. She is giggling and running, and as my husband purposely slows down, she pats him with her tiny hand triumphantly. 

She turns to run the other direction away from him saying, “Catch me, daddy!” Instead of looking ahead where she is running, she turns to look back and see if he is coming after her. A few more paces and she either trips over a toy or runs into a piece of furniture. And then the usual ensues-crying, cradling, kissing the spot, etc. Eventually, I hope she learns to keep her eyes looking ahead.

READ

Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith. For the joy set before him he endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. Consider him who endured such opposition from sinners, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart.

Hebrews 12:1-3

APPLY

As we run our race in life there are a lot of things that we can focus on. We can look behind us at the past hurt, mistakes, and disappointments. Fixing our eyes on the past will only cause another fall. We can look down at ourselves and see the hardship of a current struggle. Focusing on our current problems will only make us weary and lose heart. Instead, we should fix our eyes on Christ. He is the one who has a plan for our lives and is leading us to it, perfecting us along the way and equipping us with all that we need. By keeping our focus on Him, we see His example in the way that He responded to the struggles and hardships in His life, which He endured for our sake. Then we can be encouraged to keep running our race with optimism.

PRAY

Father, thank you for the example of Christ, who left heaven to be like me, to experience my struggles, and then to conquer the power of sin in my life. Allow me to keep my focus on His example and to not lose heart.

REFLECT

In what situation do I need to fix my eyes on Christ today?