The Bible implores,

“Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith” (Hebrews 12:2 NIV84).

And it encourages us that when we do, we will have perfect peace:

“You will keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on You, because he trusts in You” (Isaiah 26:3 NKJV).

What does it mean to fix our eyes on Christ, to keep our minds stayed on Him? I was taught growing up that it meant trusting Jesus for my salvation. I was also taught that since I accepted Jesus as my Savior and no other, then I had no other gods before Him and my mind was fixed on Christ.

As I matured, it became apparent to me that one could make a profession of faith, cognitively affirm that there is no God but the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit and no Savior other than Jesus, and still prioritize worldly things in life, spending one’s time and energy on various worldly lusts, passions, and entertainments that demonstrate the heart is really not fixed on Jesus.

And most mature Christians agree that fixing our eyes on Christ is more than a cognitive assent to Jesus as Savior; it is a heart reorientation such that our affections and desires are bound up with Him. We enjoy His presence. We seek to walk with Him and join Him in His mission and purpose—the saving of souls.

But more recently, I have come to realize that there is a subtler way to take our eyes off of Jesus without even realizing it—and that is by going forward in our work for the Lord but allowing our focus to drift to the tasks, duties, schedules, busyness, events, deadlines, obstacles, and thereby placing upon ourselves the burden of resolving these things.

We know the calling is the Lord’s, that the mission we are on is righteous, but we take our focus off of Christ and become weighed down and distressed with the bills, contractor delays, scheduling changes, travel plan interruptions, and all the other mundane realities of life rather than keeping our eyes on Christ and trusting Him with our schedule, trusting Him to open the doors, part the waters, resolve the conflicts, multiply the loaves, and provide the resources.

In other words, while on mission for the Lord and fulfilling the Lord’s calling, we subtly shift our focus from trusting Him to provide that which is not ours to provide, focus on either the obstacles or our own lack of ability, and we get burdened and stressed.

When Jesus instructed the disciples to give the crowd something to eat,

They answered, “We have only five loaves of bread and two fish—unless we go and buy food for all this crowd” (About five thousand men were there.) (Luke 9:13–14 NIV84).

They were on mission with Jesus, holding a large evangelistic campaign, yet they took their eyes off Him and saw only the problem. They didn’t see how they could accomplish the goal. Jesus showed them it is by keeping their eyes fixed on Him and trusting Him to provide.

And while sailing on mission with Jesus, a storm came upon the disciples. Rather than keeping their eyes fixed on Jesus, they battled the storm in their own strength. When exhausted and in despair, they sought Jesus and found Him sleeping in perfect peace. They woke Him and cried out,

“Teacher, don’t you care if we drown?” (Mark 4:38 NIV84).

I have found that in my life, I too easily act like the disciples, sailing on mission with Jesus, and then some storm blows in, some obstacle, some difficulty, some problem that is upsetting, difficult, painful even. And my reflex is to launch in and try to solve the problem, work harder, battle the storms, “finish the work,” get to the other side. But all too often, when I have taken this approach (because I know I am on the Lord’s mission) without first seeking the Lord, I end up exhausted, fatigued, worn out.

Then I remember to turn to Jesus. And I have learned to say, “Sorry about that, Lord. I got excited and jumped ahead, and now I am tired. Thanks for reminding me that you are my Lord and Savior, and this is your mission, not mine. Okay, Lord, I am here, ready to fulfill your calling, but I don’t see the next step; my path seems blocked. What would you have me do? I trust you!” When I remember to fix my eyes on Him, to stop taking on the storms and problems that He never called me to calm or overcome, my inner turmoil, the storms in my soul calm, and I experience His “perfect peace” because my “mind is stayed on” Him!

If you ever find yourself worn down, exhausted, fatigued while on mission for the Lord, step back and determine whether you have inadvertently gotten caught up in the mission and taken your eyes off Christ. If so, step back, recenter on Christ, and trust Him to provide everything necessary to fulfill what He has called you to achieve.