I really like sunflowers. One of my favourite things about them is that they follow the sun throughout the day. This phenomenon is known as heliotropism, and it opens up a lot of ways in which a sunflower following its circadian clock can be paralleled with how we live our lives every day following the Lord.
When I considered how sunflowers turn to face the sun throughout the day, I began thinking about how we, likewise, need to constantly turn to face the Son throughout the day.
Many people tend to start their days by going to the word in order to set their minds on Christ first thing in the morning. This is a great practice for all of us to be doing. However, I’ve found in my life that I often get caught up in the things going on around me throughout the day, especially when things are going wrong. Little by little, our eyes move from the Lord and onto our circumstances and inadequacies. When this happens, we can often go about our days feeling overwhelmed, angry, sad, and alone for no apparent reason.
This brings to mind Peter walking on the water (Matthew 14:22-33). He started out doing great, “[Jesus] said, ‘Come!’ And Peter got out of the boat, and walked on the water and came toward Jesus.” However, he got distracted. In seeing the wind and the waves around him, Peter took his eyes off of Jesus and put them on his circumstances and started to fear. Instead of reminding himself of Jesus’ sufficiency and ability to keep him safe from the storm around him, Peter started to doubt, which, in turn, caused him to start to sink.
In the midst of a busy and overwhelming day, it can feel like we are sinking – in over our heads and unable to do anything about it. But Peter didn’t just flounder around in the water, trying to stay afloat on his own. He was able to recognize that he couldn’t remedy his position himself, and instead, he called out to Jesus to save him; reorienting himself and putting his attention back on Him who deserves our attention.
Jesus was right there, ready and able to pull Peter out of the water when he called out to Him for help. The same goes for us today. He is right there with us, ready to help us through the storms we face every day.
Our eyes are easily pulled away from Christ, so as we go about our days, we need to be intentional about reorienting as many times as needed to continue fixing our gaze on Him. This is especially true when we notice that we have gotten distracted and started looking anywhere but at Him.
Hebrews 12:1-2, “ Let us also lay aside every encumbrance and the sin which so easily entangles us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of faith, who for the joy set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.”
By: Emily James
