Passage
fixing our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of faith, who for the joy set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.
Hebrews 12:2 (LSB)
Nearby Context
Hebrews 12:1 Therefore, since we have so great a cloud of witnesses surrounding us, laying aside every weight and the sin which so easily entangles us, let us run with endurance the race that is set before us,
Hebrews 12:2 fixing our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of faith, who for the joy set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.
Hebrews 12:3 For consider Him who has endured such hostility by sinners against Himself, so that you will not grow weary, fainting in heart.
Hebrews 12:4 You have not yet resisted to the point of shedding blood in your striving against sin.
Study Lenses
The verse centers on "faith", "fixing", "eyes", "jesus", "author", "perfecter", "before", and "endured". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "faith" and "fixing", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.
The nearby context moves from verse 1's "Therefore since we have so great a..." into verse 3's "For consider Him who has endured such...", so "faith" and "fixing" belong inside that flow. In Hebrews context, the local focus is Christ, faith, and discipleship.
A plain takeaway is to answer the verse's own emphasis on "faith" and "fixing" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.