The alarm went off far too early, and I stumbled out of bed thinking, There’s no way it can be morning yet. My body ached like I’d been hit by a train, but somehow, I managed to grab my sneakers without waking my husband. Tucker, however, was already ready for adventure—tail wagging, practically vibrating with excitement.
As we started down the familiar path, my thoughts wandered and I prayed in the quiet. A few minutes later, we passed some houses where dogs barked from behind their fences. Normally, Tucker stays steady and ignores them—but not this time. His eyesight isn’t great in the dark, and the mix of shadows and sharp noises had him on edge. He stayed close, clearly unsettled, and I found myself repeating the same three phrases over and over:
“With me.”
“Look at me.”
“Leave it.”
Each time he turned his head toward me, I could feel him relax—just for a moment—before his attention snapped back to the barking. And every time his eyes left mine, the tension crept back in. That’s when it hit me: this is exactly what I do.
Life is full of barking dogs—distractions, fears, insecurities, all the things that sound louder than they really are. They pull my attention and leave me unsettled. And I do exactly what Tucker does: glance at God, calm down for a moment, then snap my focus right back to the noise.
But peace only lasts when my eyes stay on Him.
It reminds me of Peter in Matthew 14. When Jesus called him out of the boat, Peter actually walked on water. As long as his eyes were fixed on Jesus, he kept going. But the moment he looked at the wind and the waves, fear took over—and he started to sink. I’ve been there more times than I can count. It’s easy to stay focused on Jesus when life feels calm, but the second a storm hits, I glance around. And just like Peter, I start sinking under the weight of fear and “what ifs.”
I’m not going to pretend this is easy. It’s one thing to tell Tucker, “Look at me. Leave it.” Guiding my own heart the same way? That’s much harder. But the invitation is the same: to walk with Him, keep my eyes on Him, and let the barking fade into background noise instead of becoming the soundtrack. If life feels noisy today, maybe this is for you too — keep turning your gaze back to Him, again and again.
Want to dig deeper? These verses encouraged me:
“You keep him in perfect peace whose mind is stayed on you, because he trusts in you.” — Isaiah 26:3
“My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me.” — John 10:27
“Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith.” — Hebrews 12:2
“…when he saw the wind, he was afraid and, beginning to sink, cried out, ‘Lord, save me!’” — Matthew 14:30
What about you? What helps you fix your eyes on God when life feels noisy?
