When you’re facing a wall, fix your eyes upon Jesus and he will rescue you. Instead of looking at your problems, gaze at the Lord.
Hi, I’m Joni Eareckson Tada with a tip if you’re facing the wall.
My friend Dan is a race car driver and during his tour in California, he stopped by Joni and Friends for a visit. Now I know very little about NASCAR, and Indy Car racing, so when Dan and I are together, I always like to pepper him with all kinds of questions. On this visit, Dan and I got talking about some of the drivers who have lost their lives on the track; there was one terrible accident in which a NASCAR legend was killed. The driver's car was in first place, but on the turn, another car slightly bumped him. And when cars bump at 190 MPH, it can be really dangerous. The driver overcorrected his car and then, in the next instant, he slammed into the wall and his car burst into flames.
I asked Dan if that kind of thing happens often on the racing circuit. "Oh yes," he said. "Guys in their cars get into a spin, get bumped, and they see that wall coming! But if there's one thing they're trained to do, they know they must not look at that wall. Their training tells them to keep their eyes on the track, and to steer out of the spin. That’s the way to get yourself and your car out of trouble. If the driver in a tight situation looks at the wall, he'll freeze, he’ll panic. Your body just reacts—you can't help it. So the answer is to concentrate every nerve on not looking at the wall but instead, steering toward that open space."
Wow! Did that answer speak to me. Because lately I've been experiencing an unusual amount of pain in my back and hip, and it's had me thinking about – well, the wall. You know, like thinking, “It's not going to get any easier. Old age is coming faster Joni; faster than you realize, and boy, you'd better brace for an impact.” As a result of my fears, I've “frozen up” at times, worrying about the future and its problems rather than the present and its opportunities.
Matthew 14:29-30 record a poignant moment when one of the Lord's closest friends looked at the wall and froze. Matthew 14 says, "Then Peter got down out of the boat, walked on the water and came toward Jesus. But when he saw the wind, he was afraid and, beginning to sink, cried out, 'Lord, save me!' Immediately Jesus reached out his hand and caught him.” Friend, Peter froze when he took his eyes off Jesus and looked at that wall of wind coming at him. But thankfully, even this frightening scene has a redemptive note, for when Peter cried out those three short words, “Lord save me,” Jesus reached out his hand and caught him. That’s what I’ve got my eyes on as I look to the future, in my pain, I want to see Jesus reaching out his hand to rescue me from the wall.
The Apostle Paul writes such encouraging words when he says to us wall- watchers, "Set your heart on things above." And then the gospel says, "Lift up your head, for your salvation draws nigh." Oh friend, fix your eyes on Jesus, don’t gaze at your problems, gaze at the Lord, your rescuer. Lift up your head, (it’s advice worth following), or you just might hit the wall. Friend, if you’re in need of an encouraging word today in the midst of your hardship, I do hope you have found these words helpful. And so share them with a friend, would you? You can always share this program at joniradio.org. And pray with me today, saying, Jesus, sometimes my life situation makes me afraid. And I feel panic rising, and my fears loom like a large wall. As best I can today, Lord, I fix my eyes on You, not on my problems, but on you. And it’s in your name I pray, Amen.
© Joni and Friends