(August 10, 2021) Mama Lava shares good advice…

Have you ever flown above a storm?

I will never forget one time I did. It was sublime. I sat in the aeroplane, looking out the window at blue sky and sunshine.

Above the storm
But beneath me were dark grey clouds illumined with periodic flashes of lightening, the forks of which may have reached all the way to the ocean surface far below.

Several years later, I went out for a run. I was blowing off steam from a particularly stressful series of events. I was praying for a way to overcome the storm of life I was in and God reminded me of that aeroplane ride.

What came next was a stunning visual that has helped me focus ever since. I recently shared it with a friend, who also found it helpful, so I thought I’d write it here. I sincerely pray it proves to be a useful trick for you too…

Stunning vision/ solid advice
Several coaches have told me, over the years, that my eyes set the foundation for success. Barring occasional clumsiness, to which I seem oddly prone, I have found the advice to be solid.

When the storms of life come and threaten to trip us up, we need to rise above them. The best way I know to get us headed in that direction is to start with our eyes. So what is the one trick to share which I know will help us all overcome life’s storms?

It’s this: Fix your eyes on Jesus!

We must set our eyes on Jesus
We must set our eyes on the Lord to look up in order to rise above our circumstances. The idea is in the very word overcome.

Just like the aeroplane above the storm, we need to soar in the Sonlight. So many scriptures confirm God is our helper in overcoming…

• His Spirit hovers over the waters (Genesis 1:2).
• He is the One who calms the storms (Luke 8:24).
• He can walk on water (John 6:10,20).
• The wind and waves obey him (Matthew 8:27).
• ‘The voice of the Lord is over the waters; the God of glory thunders, the Lord thunders over the mighty waters’ (Psalm 29:3).
• ‘Therefore God exalted him [Jesus] to the highest place and gave him the name that is above every name’ (Philippians 2:9).
• ‘Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith’ (Hebrews 12:1-2a).

Mandisa’s song Overcomer says it all…  
You’re an overcomer
Stay in the fight until the final round
You’re not going under
‘Cause God is holding you right now
You might be down for a moment
Feeling like it’s hopeless
That’s when he reminds you
That you’re an overcomer
You’re an overcomer.

Facing a storm at this time? Chin up, friends! We need to set our focus on high. Wherever we fix our eyes, the rest of our efforts follow.

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Mama Lava believes in making the big world a bit smaller through connection. Believing that everybody deserves to be wrapped in maternal love when they need it, she regularly shares encouragements… telling life experiences from an unapologetically Christian point of view the way she sees it, just as a mother does, via her link, Mama Lava’s Back Porch (A Dose of Maternal Love).
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