May 14, 2024 Devo

“It’s All About Jesus!”
“Your eye is like a lamp that provides light for your body. When your eye is healthy, your whole body is filled with light. But when your eye is unhealthy, your whole body is filled with darkness. And if the light you think you have is actually darkness, how deep that darkness is!” – Matthew 6:22-23 (NLT)
“Aim High in Steering”

“Aim High in Steering.” Those were the words of my Driver’s Education teacher when I was a Sophomore in high school. I’ve never forgotten them. His point was that you need to be looking down the road at where you're going. That way you can see what’s happening before you get to it, giving yourself time to stop or slow down. Aiming high and straightforward also keeps you on the road and in your lane. Then he said, “Wherever your eyes go, YOU go! Looking away from where you want to go will cause you to drift.”
That’s not just good driver’s training, that’s great LIFE training as well! In our passage today, Jesus makes a profound observation: Whatever gets our eyes, gets US. When our eyes are healthy and we are focusing on good things, higher things, and godly things, then we bring light (joy, peace, hope, and goodness) into our lives. But if we get focused on something that’s dark and our mind gets consumed by that, then we take in that darkness. In the words of my driver’s ed teacher, we drift. Drift far enough and we crash.
How many people do you know that are focused on how evil the world is and how bad things are? People who do that tend to be cynical, negative, and anxious. Or how about when we get focused on some hurt that we’ve experienced? We become angry, bitter, or resentful. The same is true when we focus on past failures, past painful messages, or people we think are being unjustly rewarded. As the eyes of our mind focus on these things, we’re inviting darkness into our minds, hearts, and spirits. We become victims of our own making and easily start drifting toward a lack of faith, a lack of hope, and a lack of joy.
You get to choose what you’re going to focus on. So as you navigate your way through today, aim high in your steering. Keep your eyes fixed on the goodness of God, not the fallenness of mankind. Fill your mind and your heart with the promises of our Lord, not the broken promises of people around you. Remind yourself of God’s Grace, God’s Love, and God’s Power. And remind yourself that no matter what, you are an Overcomer through Christ Jesus our Lord! Aim high in your steering today and stay focused on Eternity. Let the light of God fill your mind, heart, and soul, and may it shine THROUGH you for all to see! That’s God’s Word for you today.