Fix Your Gaze on God and Glance at the Rest

Where Our Gaze Is Pointed

Every January, I sit with the Lord and listen for a prophetic word or theme for the year ahead. It’s become a quiet rhythm for me—less about planning and more about posture.

For example, in 2021 the Lord gave me the word Jubilee. Not exactly modern vocabulary. And yet, after 2020, it was deeply appropriate—and it truly became a year of jubilee for me in ways I couldn’t have anticipated.

This January, as I spent time with God, the words that kept rising to the surface were rest and reset.

And honestly, I wrestled with them.

How could those be my words for the year… with everything I have going on?

(As if the Lord doesn’t already know.)

With responsibilities, plans, expectations, and real life still happening, rest and reset felt almost impractical. We all know the Proverbs about the ant and the grasshopper, along with any number of other verses—often taken out of context—that emphasize diligence, excellence, and doing everything unto the Lord. Rest didn’t seem to fit neatly into that framework.

Then this past weekend, a phrase I had heard years ago in a Bill Johnson message came back to me:

“Gaze at God and glance at the rest.”

I could literally feel my shoulders drop from up near my ears.

As I sat with that phrase, I began to realize a couple of important things. First, rest and reset is not the same as “relax on the couch and do nothing.” And second, it wasn’t that I was doing anything wrong—I was just full. Full of information. Full of noise. Full of the constant pull to stay connected, informed, and productive.

It feels like everything is competing for my attention—news, plans, even good things. And God is still there… just more in my peripheral vision than at the center. And I know from experience that when He’s at the center, my world feels more at peace—no matter what’s happening in front of me or around me.

So this message isn’t correction—for me or for you.

It’s an invitation.

An invitation to pause.

To realign.

And to let rest and reset begin—not by changing everything we’re doing, but by changing where we’re looking.

Life is full of noise. Headlines shout. Opinions are everywhere. Chaos presses in from all sides. At the same time, our phones are always within reach, bringing the weight of the world directly into our hands.

We glance at the news, scroll for relief, and fill our days with busyness and striving. Slowly, our attention drifts, and our inner world follows.

Scripture reminds us that what we fix our eyes on shapes who we become.

“The eye is the lamp of the body.” — Matthew 6:22

“We fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen.” — 2 Corinthians 4:18

When our gaze is scattered, our peace often is too. When our attention drifts toward noise, fear, and control, our hearts become restless. We don’t lose peace because God withdraws it—we lose peace when our gaze is pulled in too many directions.

The Distractions That Pull Us Away

Distractions aren’t always loud. Often, they are familiar, comfortable, or even necessary. But they can slowly crowd out our focus on God.

• Scrolling that numbs instead of restores

• Busyness that feels productive but leaves us empty

• Striving that convinces us everything depends on us

• The constant news cycle and the chaos of the world, especially the division we see around us

• Addiction, in its many forms, offering relief but quietly stealing freedom

• Even our own plans, which can replace trust with control

None of this means we have failed. It means we are human. It means we carry more than we were meant to.

A Gentle Invitation to Return

Jesus does not scold us for drifting. He invites us to return.

To gaze at God does not mean ignoring reality. It means anchoring ourselves in what is unchanging. We glance at the world, but we do not live there. We acknowledge chaos, but we do not absorb it. We plan wisely, but we do not strive as if everything depends on us.

“I keep my eyes always on the Lord. With Him at my right hand, I will not be shaken.” — Psalm 16:8

Receiving Peace and Rest

Jesus went to the cross not only to forgive sin but to restore us to peace, hope, rest, and freedom.

Peace isn’t something we achieve through better discipline or stronger willpower. It is received through relationship.

Fixing our eyes is not a one-time decision—it is a daily, even hourly, practice. Each moment we can choose presence over distraction, stillness over striving, and trust over fear.

Realigning Our Lives

Think of your heart and mind like a satellite dish. They are always pointed toward something, always receiving signals. Whatever they’re aimed at will shape what fills your inner life.

When our “receivers” are pointed toward God, we receive peace, clarity, hope, and rest. When they are pointed elsewhere—toward news, screens, noise, or our own striving—we receive anxiety, distraction, and restlessness instead.

We are invited to realign. To gaze at God and glance at the rest. To acknowledge reality without letting it rule our hearts. To leave behind what numbs, exhausts, and divides, and step forward into the presence of the One who holds the world—and our lives—in His hands.

A Prayer for Focus

God,

We bring You our scattered attention and our tired hearts.

Help us lift our eyes from the noise and return our gaze to You.

From striving to trust.

From distraction to presence.

Fix our eyes on You—our peace, our rest, the One who holds all things.

Help us receive the rest You offer and walk in the freedom You provide.

In Jesus’ name, amen.