And lastly, we set our minds on eternity.

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Throughout all the Gospels, Jesus constantly reminds His disciples that He hasn’t just come to save us but that He is also going to prepare a place for us. Even as death drew near to Jesus, He fixed His eyes on something better – an eternal Kingdom with His Father and an eternity spent with you and me.

What if we could do the same? What if we could lift our eyes from all the troubles here on this earth, all the heartache and hardship surrounding us, and focus for a moment on an eternity with Jesus where all things are made right and restored? No matter how hard things are right now, if we know Jesus, then this is not all there is.

Hebrews says we yearn for a better country.

In 2nd Corinthians, Paul puts it this way: “We do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, our inner self is being renewed day by day. For this light and momentary affliction is preparing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison, as we look not to the things that are seen but to the unseen. For the things that are seen are transient, but the things that are unseen are eternal.”

And Paul says here that the secret to experiencing this deep peace of being renewed day by day is to turn our eyes to the eternal, to the unseen. We aren’t just to vaguely know that Heaven is out somewhere in the sky where we will go one day. No, we are instructed to set our minds on things of Heaven.

We have an eternal promise, and it’s this: Hurt that is overwhelming right now? It will be replaced with joy. That broken relationship? It will be restored. That deep ache? It will be filled. That thing that feels so all-consuming? It will be consumed by the goodness, love, and mercy of God. We will stand victorious because of Christ! And this is what we are called to focus on, to fix our eyes and our hearts and our minds on.

When the world is spinning all around us, and we are tempted to jump into the frenetic pace to keep up, when our minds are tempted to race ahead of our actual lives and spin with anxiety about the future, I want to encourage you to ask yourself, “Will this matter in eternity?” If the answer is yes, keep going, my friend. If the answer is no, it’s time to let it go and to fix your eyes on Heaven.

Here come the holidays, friends. Our world, our culture, is spinning with a hurry that is affecting all of us and our relationships. But we are people who know the Lord. We have tasted and seen that He is good, and we must live with the long view in mind. Let’s look to the life of Jesus as we endeavor to serve Him and those around us. He will hold our hands and stay with us all the way home.

Our Faithful God: 52 Weeks of Leaning on His Unchanging Character is a summation of the faith lessons and inspiration gathered over an extraordinary life of dependence on God that catapulted in December of 2006, when an 18-year-old Katie traveled as a missionary to Uganda. Falling in love with its people so much, Katie moved to Uganda one year later to begin an adventure with God that has captivated millions over the years. She soon founded Amazima Ministries with the mission of empowering Uganda people in 2008, and made the nationally-known decision to become an adoptive mother to 13 beautiful girls by the time she was 23. Through the years, she is only more sure of God’s unfailing faithfulness and kindness, in an increasingly unsteady world.

“My prayer is that you would be filled with joy in His Word like never before and stand with me in awe of His unchanging, unending love.” —Katie