Proverbs 27:17
Wednesday, April 15, 2026
Fixing My Focus
Fixing My Focus
Today, I was driving to work and my phone flashed with a text message. For just a split second, I took my eyes off the road and just about drove into the car in front of me. The driver in front of me saw the close call and put their hands in the air. I put my hands up too—in apology! To make the situation worse, the person I almost hit attends the church where I am a pastor!
Distraction is everywhere. My phone. My schedule.
My disappointments. My own thoughts. It doesn’t take much for my focus to drift from Jesus to something smaller, louder, or more urgent.
“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.” (Hebrews 12:1–2, NIV)
There are two actions there: throw off and fix. If something is hindering my spiritual race, it has to go.
Not tomorrow. Not next week. Today.
And here’s the truth I’ve had to face: I can’t run free if I’m chained to old sin. I can’t expect spiritual momentum while protecting the very habit that trips me up.
Refocusing isn’t passive. It’s intentional. Sometimes for me, that looks like speaking truth out loud when shame tries to dominate. Sometimes it means walking away from environments that trigger old patterns. Sometimes it means turning off noise so I can hear God clearly again. Sometimes it means leaving the phone in my pocket when I am driving!
Fixing my eyes on Jesus means remembering who He is and who I am in Him. He endured the cross. He overcame shame. He sits at the right hand of the Father. If He endured, I can endure.
Today, I choose to throw off what hinders and fix my eyes again. Not because I’m strong—but because He is.
The miracle of today is that Jesus is worth focusing on—you will never regret doing that!
Let’s pray together.
Jesus, so many things compete for my attention.
Reveal what is hindering me. Give me courage to throw it off. Help me fix my eyes on You when distractions pull at me. Remind me that You endured the cross for my freedom. Teach me to run toward You and away from what weakens my soul. Amen.
You are a miracle!
Grant Fishbook
Why It Matters
Why It Matters
We have eternal hope, unchanging through life’s mountains and valleys. When we focus on that hope, our eyes are opened to God’s constant goodness in our lives. We may not be thankful for all our circumstances, but we can still give thanks in all circumstances because of who God is (1 Thessalonians 5:16-18). He is faithful, unchanging, and still working through trials for the good of those who love Him (Romans 8:28).
Trials into Thanksgiving
Trials into Thanksgiving
Written by Abby Ciona
Sometimes, what I’m thankful for one day, I complain about the next.
One morning, I’m celebrating sunny weather, but the next, I’m complaining about the heat. On Friday, I’m grateful that we finally have rain for the farmers, but Saturday, I’m hoping the rain stops, so I can do things outside. I get excited at the first snowfall of winter, but after a few weeks, I’m cold and wish spring came sooner.
Our thankfulness is often based on superficial things: when we get what we like or things go according to our plans. But it’s hard to feel thankful when we’re lacking or facing uncertainty. How can we choose to be thankful through undesirable circumstances?
In the Bible, Paul, a follower of Jesus, experienced incredibly difficult things (he compiled an impressive list of sufferings in 2 Corinthians 11:23-28). And yet, even while in jail for being a Christian, Paul wrote the encouragement to “rejoice in the Lord always” (Philippians 4:4).
Paul absolutely had hard times. Yet he knew, since he had Jesus, he had all he truly needed. He recognized that contentment in all circumstances came not from his own strength but from finding strength in Jesus.
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