Let your eyes look straight ahead; fix your gaze directly before you.
Proverbs 4:25 NIV
Following Jesus through life starts with an invitation. Jesus invites us into a relationship with Him, and at the same time, He invites us to follow Him. When we accept that invitation, we do not receive a complete roadmap. We do not know every destination, every challenge, or every delay we will encounter along the way. However, we do know one thing with certainty: Jesus will never leave us nor forsake us.
To follow Jesus, we must go where He leads. We cannot move forward with Him while constantly looking behind us. Although we may feel tempted to revisit the past, we cannot fully embrace where God is taking us if we remain fixated on where we have been.
The reality is that life rarely moves in a straight line. We experience unexpected turns, difficult seasons, disappointments, delays, and distractions. One moment everything seems to be progressing smoothly, and the next moment a situation arises that changes our plans completely. Sometimes those changes affect entire communities or nations. At other times, they affect only us personally. Regardless of their scale, they often catch us off guard.
As a result, many of us lose momentum. We stop moving forward because we do not know how to navigate what stands before us. Instead of looking ahead, we start looking back. Instead of trusting God for the next step, we remain trapped in places we never intended to stay.
The truth is that anyone can get stuck.
Sometimes we get stuck because we feel comfortable where we are. Change requires effort, and comfort often convinces us to stay put. Other times, fear keeps us from moving forward. We worry about the future, doubt our abilities, or question whether God will come through for us.
In other seasons, loss keeps us stuck. We struggle to release what we once had. We replay painful memories, unanswered prayers, missed opportunities, and disappointing experiences. Before long, disappointment turns into discouragement, discouragement turns into frustration, and frustration begins to shape our perspective.
When we honestly evaluate our lives, we can see how easily people become trapped in unforgiveness, bitterness, offence, fear, guilt, insecurity, comfort, and complacency. Yet God never designed us to build permanent homes in those places. He calls us to keep moving forward with Him.
Moving forward does not mean pretending that pain does not exist. Rather, it means choosing to trust God while walking through the pain. It means moving through grief instead of living in it or walking through disappointment without allowing it to define us. It means facing uncertainty while remaining confident in God’s faithfulness.
Meanwhile, that is not always easy. In fact, remaining stuck often feels safer than moving forward. Staying where we are feels familiar. Moving forward requires faith. It requires us to step into unfamiliar territory and trust God with outcomes we cannot see. This is why the writer of Hebrews gives us such an important instruction:
“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” (Hebrews 12:2).
The key to following Jesus through life is keeping our eyes on Jesus. When we focus on our circumstances, fear grows. If it is on our disappointments, discouragement grows. When we focus on what we have lost, regret grows. However, when we focus on Jesus, our faith grows.
This requires intentionality. Firstly, we must stop looking back and start looking to Jesus. Secondly, we must invite Him into the areas where we feel stuck and allow Him to guide us forward.
In addition, we must continue moving, even when the journey feels difficult. We must trust that God is working through every season and leading us towards His plans, purposes, and promises.
Most importantly, we must learn to repeat this process throughout our lives. New challenges will come, new obstacles will appear. New seasons will test our faith. Jesus never promised a life without trouble, but He did promise His presence, His peace, and His victory.
Living a life of faith is not about avoiding challenges. It is about learning to keep our eyes on Jesus in the middle of them.
Living It Out
Following Jesus through life is lived out in daily choices. Notice where you feel stuck, and bring that, honestly, before God. Then take one simple step forward in obedience today, trusting Him with what comes next.