When the Waves Get High: Keeping Our Eyes on Jesus

Brothers and sisters, friends, fellow disciples—if you’ve ever felt like your little boat is taking on water, you know the feeling. Maybe it’s the weight of a past mistake, a relationship that ended badly, or a disappointment that just keeps resurfacing. Suddenly, the gentle current of discipleship feels like a raging tide.

It’s easy, isn't it? When the waters get choppy, our natural inclination is to look down—to stare at the water coming over the side. We fixate on the leak, the damage, the sheer overwhelming force of what *was* or what *is* going wrong. We start listening to the loud, persistent voice of our own pain, and suddenly, that voice drowns out everything else.

This week, I was reflecting on a powerful message that hit home, reminding me that the greatest danger isn't the storm itself, but where we choose to focus our gaze. We can get so caught up in the wreckage of yesterday that we can’t see the Savior standing right there, ready to help us pull to safety.

It’s a constant battle, isn't it? The pull of the familiar ache versus the call of the Spirit. We are taught in our missionary discussions to focus on the Savior, to keep our eyes fixed on the covenant path. But when we're deep in the muck of our own memories, that focus slips away.

What struck me most was the clarity in the message: we must choose. We must actively choose to listen to the voice of Jesus rather than the echo of our past pain. This isn't just feel-good platitude; it’s spiritual triage. It’s recognizing that the feelings of regret, the bitterness, the 'what ifs'—while real—are not the ultimate authority in our lives.

The Power of the Gaze: A Lesson for Every Disciple

Think about it like this: If you are trying to navigate a difficult passage, and you keep looking down at the churning water, you are going to panic, and you are going to lose your bearings. But if you lift your eyes—if you lift your gaze—and focus entirely on the calm, steady presence of the Savior, you can find the strength to keep moving forward. That’s what discipleship is: a conscious, daily act of redirecting our focus.

A Prayer for the Storm

If you are wrestling with this right now—if the waves of your history feel too high to manage—I encourage you to take that prayer shared in the video and make it your own. It’s a beautiful acknowledgment that the Savior knows the depth of your struggle better than you do. It’s admitting, “I can’t see past the pain, but I know You do.”

“Signore, tu sai cosa sto passando. Meglio di chiunque altro, lo sai perché mi vedi. Aiutami a non tenere gli occhi sul mio passato, sui miei dolori, ma a fissare il mio sguardo su di te. Riempimi della tua pace e della tua gioia, Gesù.”

This isn't just a prayer for a specific crisis; it's a foundational principle for the whole journey of discipleship. It’s about making the covenant promise to keep our eyes fixed on Him, no matter how dark the waters get.

Your Next Step: Keeping the Focus

As we continue to build up our capacity to be Internet missionaries—to share the Gospel in every corner of our digital lives—we need this steady focus. We need to be ready to guide others, and first, we must be steady ourselves. If you feel the pull of old narratives or past hurts distracting you from the light, I invite you to try a small exercise this week:

1. Identify the Anchor: When you feel anxiety or regret creeping in, pause. Mentally name the feeling ("This is the voice of my past pain").
2. Redirect the Gaze: Immediately follow that thought with a scripture verse or a simple declaration of faith in Christ. (Think of it as a mental counter-wave.)
3. Anchor in Covenant: End by repeating, “I choose to listen to the voice of Jesus.”

Remember, every member can be a disciple anywhere, all the time. If you want to practice this skill with someone who knows the ropes, I highly recommend checking out the latest discussions in the HolyPlaces Book Club. We’ve been diving deep into passages about steadfastness, and the insights are building up our collective spiritual muscle.

If you're looking for more tools to sharpen this focus, don't forget to check out the latest Iron Rod insights. And if you want to walk through some tough doctrinal questions—like how to answer an investigator who says, "But my pain feels more real than the gospel"—don't hesitate to tap into Davee's AI Investigator role. He's ready to walk you through it.