Shift Your Focus, Shift Your Life: Living with an Eye of Faith

Feeling swamped and unsure where to start?

Does your challenge feel too much, and you have too little time, energy, patience, or ability?

Have you ever noticed how easy it is to get stuck looking backward… rehashing mistakes, reliving hurts, or replaying fears?

If any of these sound familiar, you're not alone. Life brings real pressure such as family, work, worry, stress, health, and finances. Parenting is hard. Life can feel messy. Sometimes the challenges in front of us seem impossible.

Up close, the rock looks huge. On the ground, the rock is easily managed. Perspective changes everything.

See the Rock Right

How we view our challenges determines how we respond to them. A small rock placed immediately in front of our eyes seems insurmountable.

However, when placed on the ground, where it belongs, the rock becomes manageable. The rock didn’t disappear, but our perspective shifted, and suddenly we can better see the path forward.

The Power of Focus

It’s easy to fixate on fear, failure, or frustration. Where we look however determines the direction we travel. Here are practical ways to look at this:

• Bike Lesson: We teach our children to look ahead, not down at the pedals. Their bodies followed their eyes.

• Learning to Walk: As children learn to walk, we encourage them to look at us. We get excited and try to keep their focus.

• In times of stress, in sports, working with children, or as a nurse, we get to their level and calmly say, “Look at me.” “You’re good.” “You can do this.” “I’ve got you.”

In each case, the formula is the same:

Presence + Eye Contact = Reassurance

Faith grows when we fix our gaze on what is steady, reliable, and true. One step at a time, we gain courage, confidence, and perspective.

Use the Windshield

Sometimes it can be easy to get caught dwelling on the past. But when we keep our eyes forward, we open ourselves to growth. Think about driving a car: you glance in the rearview mirror, for perspective, but you drive by looking through the windshield.

A forward-facing perspective doesn’t erase challenges, but it reframes them. Instead of seeing obstacles as proof we are stuck, we can see them as steppingstones to shape us into something better.

Faith is, at its core, a forward vision. When we choose to live with an eye of faith, we stop asking only, “Why is this happening?” Instead, we start asking, “What can I learn from this?” and we start seeing opportunities. That change in focus changes everything. As we change our focus, we also change the way we feel. We tend to find more hope, courage, and the strength to keep moving forward.

Fixed Your Eyes on Jesus

When we fix our eyes on Jesus, the path ahead becomes clearer.

A powerful resource to overcoming any challenge is to keep our eyes on Jesus Christ. Through His eyes, we begin to see life with wisdom, love, and purpose. We start to recognize every challenge, as an opportunity for growth, refinement, and closer alignment with Him.

When we look through the eyes of faith rather than fear, frustration, despair, or doubt, our challenges shrink to a more manageable size. Our focus determines our direction, and our direction determines our destiny.

Peter’s Faith on the Water

One night on the Sea of Galilee, a terrible storm arose pounding the disciples’ boat, leaving even the experienced fishermen straining and afraid.  

Peter walked on water as long as his eyes were fixed on Jesus

Jesus came to them, walking on the water, and said, “Be of good cheer; it is I; be not afraid.”

In the middle of the intense storm, darkness, fear, and uncertainty, Peter chose to step into the storms and the waves and go to Jesus. While his eyes stayed on Jesus, he walked on the water. But then Peter shifted his eyes from Jesus back to the storm. Fear took over and Peter began to sink.

This story is a powerful reminder that where we place our focus determines whether we rise above challenges or get swallowed by them. Like Peter, we all face storms. The waves of stress, fear, and uncertainty are real. But they don’t have to define us.

When we choose to keep our eyes forward, fixed on faith, hope, and the bigger picture, we find strength to keep walking, even when the storm seems impossible.

God invites us to view life from His perspective. What feels overwhelming may be the means God is leading us towards something better. We may not understand why certain things don’t work out, but we trust in His vision.

When we keep our eyes on Jesus, we realize He is guiding us, keeping us safe, and preparing us for greater things.

Six Action Steps To Live with an Eye of Faith:

1.        Acknowledge the Challenge

👉 Begin by recognizing that life is exhausting, messy, and often overwhelming.

📌 Why: You normalize the feeling. “It’s ok to feel tired, frustrated, or unsure. You’re not failing… you’re human.” This creates trust and reduces guilt.

2.        Define Your Future Vision.

👉 Write down where you want to be in 1 year, 5 years, or 10 years. Be specific about how you want to grow in your relationships, health, work, or personal fulfillment.

📌 Why: Specific targets pull you forward. You naturally move towards where your eyes are fixed.

3.        Reframe Obstacles

👉 Ask: “What is this teaching me?” Or “How might this shape me for something bigger?”

📌 Why: Challenges become training, not identity.

4.        Practice Forward-Focused Thinking Daily

👉 Start each morning by asking: “What one small action moves me toward my bigger vision?” Place sticky notes, phone reminders, or other images to help you stay focused and to give you encouragement.

📌 Why: Small, consistent steps build momentum and keep your eyes fixed forward instead of stuck on the past. Visual cues help retrain attention to the future.

5.        Choose Future-Oriented Voices

👉 Read books, listen to podcasts, or spend time with people who think growth, resilience, and opportunity.

📌 Why: Your environment feeds your focus. If you’re around people who see possibility, it’s easier to look forward with confidence.

6.        Anchor Yourself in Gratitude and Hope

👉 Each night, write down 3 wins from the day and 1 thing you’re hopeful for tomorrow.

📌 Why: Gratitude reminds you of progress, while hope keeps your eyes looking ahead instead of dwelling on what’s behind.

Living with an “eye of faith” means choosing vision over distraction, growth over fear, and opportunity over limitation. Where your eyes go, your heart follows. Shift your focus towards faith and you shift the entire direction of your life.

Invitation

What are you looking toward? Where is your focus?

• Are you looking back with fear, overwhelmed by the rocks in front of you?

• Are you looking forward with faith?

• Fix your eyes on Jesus. Trust His perspective. Take the next step. Then the next. One focused step at a time changes the whole journey.

Life’s rocks don’t disappear, but as we place the rock in the right place, our perspective transforms. By keeping an eye of faith, we gain reassurance, hope, and clarity. We see that God’s plan is greater than our trials, and that every challenge is shaping us to become the best version of ourselves.

Fix your eyes on Jesus. Look to Him. Trust Him. And take the next step… You’ve Got This!