I Hardly Noticed
“But Stephen, full of the Holy Spirit, hardly noticed, he only had eyes for God.” (Acts 7:55 MSG)
They were yelling at him.
Dragging him out.
Accusing, attacking, preparing to kill him.
And yet Stephen hardly noticed.
Not because it was painless or insignificant, but because his focus was not on the chaos around him.
His eyes were fixed on the glory before him.
He saw Jesus, and that changed everything.
Some time ago I walked through a season that felt like life was unraveling, not explosively but through tiny, painful cuts.
Misunderstandings piled up.
Texts went unanswered.
Friends drifted away.
I replayed every moment in my mind, searching for what I said wrong or could have done differently.
My thoughts were loud. My heart was heavy.
One day, sitting quietly in my car, I whispered, “God, where are You in this?”
I sensed a gentle nudge: You are looking for answers, but you have stopped looking at Me.
It stunned me, because it was true. I was obsessed with the why instead of staying anchored in the Who.
That moment did not solve everything, but it centered me again.
From then on I started my mornings differently.
No longer asking, “What do people think?” but, “God, what do You see?”
Slowly I noticed Him again. His presence. His promises. His peace.
The circumstances did not change overnight, but something in me did.
When people asked how I was holding up, all I could say was,
“Honestly, I hardly notice the noise anymore. My eyes are on Him.”
That simple shift, choosing to look up instead of around, changes everything.
It may not remove the pain, but it refocuses our perspective.
Stephen shows us that when our eyes are locked on heaven, what once consumed us begins to fade.
When we fix our eyes on God, three things happen:
Distractions lose their power.
The chaos around you shrinks when your gaze is set above you.Pain gets redefined.
It does not vanish, but it gains purpose. You begin to see meaning in your pain.Courage rises above criticism.
Stephen did not shrink back. He stood tall because his view of God was greater than the view of people.
When we stare at problems, fear grows.
When we stare at pressure, stress grows.
When we stare at God, faith grows.
Maybe that is what you need today, not every answer but a better focus.
Not a change in your situation but a shift in your sight.
Because when your eyes are on Jesus, everything else finds its proper place.
Let us be people who can say the same.
That in the face of pressure, pain, or opposition, we hardly noticed, because our eyes were on Him.
So today, wherever you find yourself, whether in peace or in pressure, may your focus shift.
Not just toward relief, but toward revelation.
Not just toward answers, but toward the One who never leaves your side.
Let’s take a moment to realign our vision and talk to God together:
God, fill me with Your Spirit.
Help me notice You more than I notice the weight of this world.
Lift my eyes from offense, stress, fear, and rejection, and let me see Your face again.
Like Stephen, give me a glimpse of heaven that gives me strength on earth.
Amen.
Ask yourself:
What have I been staring at lately?
Where have I allowed the noise to cloud my vision?
What would change if I fixed my eyes on Jesus again?
