Our eyes are on God. He is our focus in all of this journey.

He is our hope. We stand on His Word and declare that what He says is true, no matter what we see in front of us. We find hope in knowing what He will and will not do. We praise Him for who He is and thank Him for what He does.

We learn from Peter.

You know the story.[i] All around Peter and Jesus was a boisterous storm, but as long as Peter’s eyes were fixed on Jesus, he walked on the powerful waves with Jesus, safe from their fury. The wind and waves were not effective against him.

But when Peter took his eyes off Jesus, the waves became effective against him, and he sank.

If “sank” describes your emotions in your journey loving a prodigal—drowning in the chaos with waning hope and emotional turmoil; and with dread, fear, anxiety, and depression effectively hindering your life, calling, and maybe even your very prayers—turn your eyes back to Jesus. Keep your mind on God. When we look at Him, the wind and waves will have no effect on our faith or effectiveness in our prayers for our prodigals, in our ministries, emotions, thoughts, or any other part of our lives.

How do we do that, when circumstances scream for our attention, our focus? Our path to keeping our mind on God is an exercise, but realizing when the spiral begins and then turning our thoughts back to God will change the thieving thought processes that sometimes go hand in hand with the journey of loving a prodigal. We use the mighty spiritual weapons He’s given us to fight for our victory and peace:

For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war according to the flesh. For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal but mighty in God for pulling down strongholds, casting down arguments and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God, bringing every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ” (2 Corinthians 10:3-5 NKJV).

Arguments and things against the knowledge of God are waves whose purpose is to sink us, to drown us; but we have the mighty-in-God weapons to help keep our eyes on the Lord and make sure of our footing, no matter the size of the waves under us and the strength of the wind around us.

One of these mighty spiritual weapons is praise. Praise is the opposite of “arguments and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God” and pulls down those strongholds every time. Also, “[t]he Lord enthrones Himself in the praises of His people (Psalm 22:3), causing your praise to have Him placed in the seat of authority in your heart and mind and life, an essential for victory in this fight for the salvation of your prodigal” (Winkelman, Encouragement in the Waiting, p. 51).

Another mighty weapon is the Word. A daily dose of the pure Word of God serves to put our mind on Him, because it teaches us about God’s might, power, authority, abilities, resources, plans, promises—everything we need to know for this journey and all of life. In fact, Jesus said the strength we gain by hearing and living out His words is demonstrated by the strength of a house built on a rock: “‘Therefore whoever hears these sayings of Mine, and does them, I will liken him to a wise man who built his house on the rock: and the rain descended, the floods, came, and the winds blew and beat on that house; and it did not fall, for it was founded on the rock’” (Matthew 7:24-25). That is powerful promise, that the floods will not cause our fall as long as His words are the foundation for our lives. So, we stay in the Word.

Not only will we be strong in the middle of the floods, but we also receive a promise if we just keep our minds on Him. That promise? Perfect peace. Isaiah 26:3 says, “You will keep him in perfect peace, Whose mind is stayed on You, Because he trusts in You.”

Perfect peace.

Perfect peace sounds lofty, out of reach, but it is a promise. It is truth. We can have perfect peace.

A Present-Day Focus Diverter

Our focus is on God, but there is a possible focus-diverter prevalent in our world. It is obvious that prophecy is being fulfilled regarding events that must happen before Jesus’ coming to get His saints, but we are not to allow thoughts about this overwhelm us in regards to our prodigals’ salvation. False prophets even try to predict Jesus’ return, playing God, arrogantly thinking they can figure it out, despite the fact that Jesus Himself said no one but the Father knows when this will take place (Matthew 24:36). We should beware of this. Even listening to them is dangerous and can cause tumultuous thoughts and fears. Instead, let the signs of the times help you to stay the course of fighting for your prodigal’s salvation, keeping your mind on God and His promises, because no matter the timeline, no matter what others say or what we see happening around us, we trust God to do what He said He would do for them, bottom line!

Trust God. Trust His promises to you personally and in His Word regarding His saving your prodigal and answering your prayers.

A Great Thought

Jesus was with Peter right in the middle of the storm, in the middle of the danger with him, not leaving him or forsaking him, but protecting and available. Peter’s focus was the factor in whether he was safe or not. Our focus carries the same weight.

And, of course, Jesus can calm the wind and waves with a word!

“Why are you cast down, O my soul? And why are you disquieted within me? Hope in God, for I shall yet praise Him For the help of His countenance” (Psalm 42:5).

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[i] Matthew 14:25-31