Close Your Eyes

I could feel myself chewing the inside of my cheek while pacing at the foot of our bed, trying my best to get our eight month old to drift off to sleep. Lost in thought, my raincloud of concentration grew heavier and heavier. 

My Dad had been in a silent battle against cancer and I was examining every detail, going over everything my mom had recounted to me from the doctors they’d seen and the tests that had been run. All the “what if’s” and the “why's” were threatening my peace and poking at my faith.

“Close your eyes.”

Startled, I stopped. “Lord, was that You?” I whispered.

Again, “Close your eyes.”

I closed my eyes…and opened my ears.

“Do you trust Me?”

I sucked in a breath, “Oh, Father. Yes. I trust You.”

In an instant, I felt the sheer peace that accompanied what He was trying to tell me fall like a shroud. I'd been hyperfocusing on the report that came with each new doctor's appointment, waiting with baited breath to hear the newest update. I’d let my line of sight drift,  “fixing my eyes” on what the doctors were saying instead of on what we knew to be absolute truth. God was the one to be most trusted and His report was the only one that mattered. 

In Corinthians, Paul encourages the Corinthian church, “Therefore we do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day. For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen, since what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal” (2 Cor. 4:16–18 NIV).  

Paul delivers a bottom-liner that resounds with a fundamental truth - we will face tribulation and trials here on earth, but don’t lose heart, because He can be trusted. He can be trusted with our problems, both big and small, thus, He is where our focus must rest. When we find ourselves dwelling on the problem itself, it’s not very often we find a solution for that problem. It’s when we remain unmoved in our adherence to the Father that things begin to shift.

Friends, when we keep our countenance steady and interlocked with the Holy Spirit, we find our faith strengthened, our joy intact, and a wide open door for miraculous opportunity. Opportunity for healing, for faith building, for Him to wreck the expectations of the oncology board at Mayo - opportunity after opportunity for His Glory to shine.

Sister, I don’t know what you’re facing, but I do know that it doesn’t stand a chance against the Father we have. And I know that shifting the problem starts with keeping our focus on the Problem Solver. He is far more capable of taking care of any temporal problem than you or I, so when uncertainty in the midst of tribulation arises, close your eyes, lean in, and trust Him.

“Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways submit to him, and he will make your paths straight.” ​ Proverbs 3:5-6 (NIV)

About the Author

Hi Friends! I’m Faith, wife of six years to my wonderful husband, Ryan, and mama to the most precious earthly gifts. Both of their little lives will forever be a testament to God’s Faithfulness as He’s proven to us time and time again that He delights in blessing His children. We live in a tiny little town in South Georgia called Sparks and I work as a Research & Development Technician within a breeding program for a seed company in a neighboring city. I enjoy my career but my heart and Spirit delight in the written word, specifically God’s Word. I’m passionate about writing and am ecstatic to be able to channel that passion into sharing His Will and Glory here on earth - to be His vessel so others will know Him, His heart for us, and how wonderful a life lived for Him will always undoubtedly be.