3 Ways to Influence Your Destiny

Where we fix our focus determines our destiny.

Letting our eyes linger on an object, person, or goal that doesn’t meet God’s approval will land us in trouble. Case in point – Oholibah.

You might wonder, Who in the world is Oholibah? Truth be told, I hadn’t a clue who she was until I studied the book of Ezekiel for writing my “First 5” Bible study assignments (Proverbs 31 Ministries). I discovered that she’s an allegorical adulteress. That’s a mouthful, eh? Let me explain.

Ezekiel 23:14-17 tells of Oholibah gazing at pictures of Babylonian military officers on a wall. The pictures appeal to her. Instead of turning her eyes away, she lets them linger until she begins to lust. Then she acts on that lust. An illicit relationship follows, and her lovers eventually destroy her.

In this allegory, Oholibah represents Judah.

God had warned His people against pursuing relationships with ungodly nations. He knew that doing so would lead to adopting foreign gods and religious customs. His people would fall into idolatry, and this would destroy them. Sure enough, He was right. Judah formed a political alliance with Babylon, she fell into idolatry, and Babylon destroyed her.

Oholibah’s destiny might have been much different had she applied Psalm 119:37 when gazing on the pictures of the Babylonian military officers. It says,

“Turn my eyes from looking at worthless things; and give me life in your ways.”

Fixing her gaze on God, the One who promised her His undying love, would have kept her affection in the right place and saved her from destruction.

As I thought about how Oholibah’s focus determined her destiny, I realized that Eve shared a similar story.

“So when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was a delight to the eyes…, she took of its fruit and ate…” (Genesis 3:6).

Potiphar’s wife followed the same path.

“And after a time his master’s wife cast her eyes on Joseph and said, “Lie with me” (Genesis 39:7).

And then came David’s adultery.

“…he saw from the roof a woman bathing; and the woman was very beautiful” (2 Samuel 11:2).

Each of these folks let their eyes linger too long where they didn’t belong, and trouble followed.

On what might we fix our eyes to our detriment?

Here are a few ideas that come to mind:

Rather than focusing on things that appeal to us but fall short of God’s standard or approval, let’s be intentional about fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith. (Hebrews 12:2 NIV) Here are three ways we can do so:

Where we fix our focus determines our destiny.

Therefore, turn your eyes from worthless things. Focus on Jesus, and you’ll discover the abundant life He intended for you.