What are you looking at? When our focus on the problem causes us to miss God

Many aircraft accidents happen because pilots fail to pay attention. “Inattentional blindness” – when someone is so focused on one thing that they fail to see another – is a common cause.

In 1972, Eastern Airlines Flight 401 crashed into the Florida Everglades because the captain, co-pilot and flight engineer became overly concerned about an indicator light that had not come on when the landing gear was lowered.

While fussing over it, the captain accidentally switched off the autopilot. None of them noticed the gradual loss of altitude or the warning chime – until 10 seconds before the aircraft crashed.

The landing gear was working fine; the indicator bulb had simply blown. Fixation on something inconsequential resulted in inattentional blindness and an aircraft mishap that tragically took 101 lives, including the three flight crew.

A question that changed my perspective

I taught aviation physiology, which studies the physical and mental effects of flight on humans, to pilots for 10 years.

But it wasn’t until a recent spiritual retreat that I realised how the same principles of attention and vision apply to our lives.

As my Pastor spoke about spiritual inattention, a question surfaced in my mind: “What are you looking at?”

This wasn’t a taunting kua simi? (Hokkien for “what are you looking at?”), but a searching question.

What am I paying attention to?

Or rather, what am I not paying attention to?

Sometimes, we can be so absorbed in our problems, pain or plans that we fail to notice what matters most.

God may be trying to speak to us or show us something, but we may not be listening to or looking at Him.

Where is your attention?

A popular YouTube clip, the Basketball Awareness Test, illustrates inattentional blindness perfectly.

The video shows basketball players dressed in black or white. Viewers are asked to count how many passes the white team makes.

Those who get the answer right are usually surprised by the final question: Did you see the moonwalking bear? 

They had completely missed a man in a bear suit moonwalking through the same scene because they were too busy watching the passes between people wearing white.

It’s the same with life. When trouble strikes, we often fixate on our emotions, fears and tasks. We may even pray and ask God to help us, to deliver us from it or give us a favourable outcome. 

But quite often, we suffer or struggle because we are unable to see God in our situation, even though He is definitely present and working.

We fail to notice Him because our attention is elsewhere.

Focal and peripheral vision

Our eyes have two modes of seeing: Focal and peripheral vision.

When we run, drive or fly an aircraft, we are primarily using our peripheral vision to observe the broader surroundings around us.

Our focal vision – which enables us to see details within a small area of our vision – is usually on a non-specific point at a distance, or switches between various objects within our visual field.

Pilots learn early not to be so focused on a specific target or task that they lose situational awareness of their surroundings, which can be dangerous and lead to potential mishaps.

I realised that morning at the retreat that this is how many of us live. We get completely caught up in what we are doing and lose sight of what’s truly important, until it is too late. 

We do not see God because we are not looking for Him, or are unable to look away from our situation. 

Perhaps we are not able to navigate our lives properly because we are not using our peripheral vision to look at the bigger view. Our attention may be focusing on what feels most urgent, causing us to miss what is actually most important – God Himself, what He is saying and what He is doing. 

A change in perspective

Our vision is not just about what our eyes see. It’s also about how our brain interprets what we look at. Our perceptions are shaped by past experiences, emotions and biases.

I often use The Little Mermaid as an example. When Ariel finds a fork underwater, she combs her hair with it. Later, when she joins the prince for a meal on land (in a setting unfamiliar with her), she uses it the same way – until she realises it’s for eating with. 

The Little Mermaid’s perception of the fork as a comb came from her earlier context of discovering it in the ocean for the first time. To the prince and all viewers, the fork is clearly a utensil for eating – something we have learned since childhood.

Simply put, our eyes see the same image, but our brain may perceive it differently.

Likewise, our experiences colour how we interpret life’s situations. Perhaps if we take a step back to ask God for His perspective on our situation, we may begin to see things differently.

I have had many experiences where my situation did not change, but God gave me a new perspective which allowed me to respond differently – and that, in turn, changed the situation and myself.

For instance, frustrated and hurt by a difficult person, I once complained to God. 

I sensed Him asking me: “Can you love your enemy?”

Reading Matthew 5, I asked God to help me forgive, to see past the injustice and frustration, and help me to treat the person with kindness and patience, instead of wariness and negativity.

I then was able to release negative emotions. I was the one changed.

How the other person behaved subsequently – even if they continued to be difficult – became less influential on how I felt.

While we may not be able to change our situation, we can choose to change our perception and our response to it.

At that retreat, we discussed and put into practice various spiritual disciplines – prayer, meditation on Scripture, solitude, worship, as well as aids like common prayers, liturgy, prayer labyrinths and spiritual mentorship. 

I saw that these spiritual disciplines were helpful for keeping our focal vision on God.

In the distractions and challenges of daily life, it is all too easy to get absorbed and lose sight of God – unless I prioritise focusing my attention on Him through intentional spiritual discipline.

What are you looking at? 

We all like to believe that we are in control of our own lives. But where is God in the picture? Perhaps the question should be: Is God the pilot of your aircraft, or are you? 

It may feel scary and dangerous to take your eyes off your problems, but when you turn your eyes upon Jesus and look into His wonderful face, you are likely to find – as I did – a peace that transcends all understanding. 

For if we believe in His sovereignty as God, then nothing that happens can be outside of His control. 

So, what are you looking at? Is your answer Jesus?

A version of this story first appeared on Stories of Hope.

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