Ever see sunflowers growing in someone’s garden? Or perhaps by the side of the road? You probably noticed that they almost always face toward the sun. In the morning, young sunflowers face east, slowly turning west as they keep their faces toward the sun throughout the day. Then during the night, they reverse themselves so they are ready to do it again the next day. Why do they do this? Because they innately know that the more sunshine they get, the better they will grow. When sunflower plants are grown indoors, in a short time they stop this habit of always trying to face the sun, and consequently they grow at a slower pace.

You never find sunflowers looking down at themselves to check if their stalks are too thick or their leaves are wrinkled (as we often do). Nor do you see them looking at one another to see who is growing best. Their faces are fixed on the sun, even as our eyes should be fixed on the Son of God, Jesus our Savior.

A spiritual principle in Hebrews 12:1, 2 says, “Let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us. Let us fix our eyes on Jesus.” When we keep our eyes on the Son of God, we don’t get discouraged.

If we focus on ourselves, we will get depressed.

If we focus on others, we will often be disappointed

If we focus on Jesus, we will be encouraged, for Romans 5:5 tells us He is “the

God who gives perseverance and encouragement.”

Helen Keller, who was blind, once said, “Keep your face to the sunshine and you cannot see the shadows.  It’s what the sunflowers do.”[1]

Remember the lesson of the sunflower. Throughout our day, “Let us fix our eyes on Jesus.”

[1] Helen Keller, https://emilygibby.com/blog/2016/06/08/2016-6-7-life-lessons-from-a-sunflower-personal-gettoknowelovephotos/, accessed 11-30-2020.