As long as Peter kept his eyes on Jesus, through the storm, he did not sink when he got out of the boat to walk to Jesus, but when he looked at the circumstances all around him, instead of looking on the one who could speak peace be still in the storm, he began to sink. Set your affection on things above, not on things on the earth. (Colossians 3:2)

We live in challenging times where keeping our eyes on Jesus will be the only way to be victorious. Our flesh often searches for material answers, when we should be seeking a divine intervention. We have absolutely no control over the future, so it’s important to place our lives in God’s will. He promises to uphold us with the right hand of his righteousness.

I know that at times seeing the turmoil in our world can often bring us down. We may even feel hopeless if we look at the situations that arise. Feeling like we are powerless does not help us to manage our emotions, and yet, we still have a way through the challenges we face: it is through prayer. Our situation may even stay the same after we have prayed; however, our perspective will change in that we learn to trust in God and to not lean to our own understanding. He alone is the author and the finisher of our faith. He has written out every chapter of our lives, and it’s up to us to do the best that we can to stay in the middle of God’s will, so that we may find peace in the midst of our storm.

Trials will come into our lives; yet, God will see us through them. I know that some days it feels that the Lord is no longer listening to my prayers, so in those moments, I keep on praying. It is his pleasure to give us the desires of our heart, but we must acknowledge him in all that we do.

It used to be that I would put other things first in my life besides prayer and communion with the Lord. It was during those times that I was the most miserable and I felt that something vital was missing from my life: after many days of defeat, I realized that I had surrendered my joy. After seeking the Lord in prayer my life changed because the more I prayed, the less defeated I felt. As my prayer life was restored, so was my faith that the joy of the Lord is my strength.

In this week’s Lattereign we learn that Keeping God first in all we do, will help us to stay in the middle of God’s will for our lives.