I want to make a confession, focus is a hard thing for me. When I saw that I was the one lined up to write this week’s blog for our Choose Ministry on this particular word, I cringed just a little. Okay, a lot!
You see, I’m a creative, and my mind has trouble focusing. It would make some of you absolutely crazy to watch how I work, going from one thing to the next, but that’s just how my mind functions most of the time.
Don’t get me wrong, it usually works well and helps me accomplish things quickly, but it definitely gets me into trouble at times too.
I’m learning in this particular season of life that WHERE I focus is what makes all the difference. If I focus on the problems in front of me, they easily become insurmountable mountains.
If I focus on what I don’t have, it’s easy to obsess about the abundance that everyone else around me seems to have in their “perfect” lives.
If I focus on plans that aren’t turning out the way I thought they would, it’s easy to rehash every episode in my life where I’ve been disappointed.
All of these choices to look at the negative side of life leave me feeling anxious and depressed. And to be honest, it’s exhausting!
Can you relate, my friend?
If I shift my focus and turn it upwards, life looks radically different. I see all the ways God is indeed working and active. I realize how good I really have it as I look at my blessings. I remember the amazing ways God has revealed His mighty presence all along my journey. I have eyes ready to see the miracles in the mundane. They’re there if we just take the time to look.
We look away from the natural realm and we focus our attention and expectation onto Jesus who birthed faith within us and who leads us forward into faith’s perfection. His example is this: Because his heart was focused on the joy of knowing that you would be his, he endured the agony of the cross and conquered its humiliation, and now sits exalted at the right hand of the throne of God!
Hebrews 12:2 (TPT)
Jesus is the perfect example of where to put our focus. He knew he was going to suffer extreme agony, unbearable pain, something he did not deserve. Yet with his eyes fixed on the throne of God, he went willingly to the cross.
Jesus never took his eyes off the Father. And we shouldn’t either.
The text says some important words that can radically change our perspective when we apply them to our lives each and every day. It says, “Because his heart was focused,” and the “where” his heart was focused is the key, “the throne of God.”
I have been prompted over and over again this last week to focus on Jesus, to simply sit in His presence. To surrender my will to his. To simply be still.
This is a crazy busy time for me with my Christmas shows. I get anxious. I get nervous and overwhelmed.
The night before last I hardly slept.
Last night my husband and I went to our small group together and had a great time of fellowship and prayer. Before I went to bed, I prayed on the phone with a friend, and then before I put my head on my pillow, I spent time soaking in the presence of Jesus, quieting my thoughts and my heart.
And guess what! I slept until almost 7:00 this morning. For me, this is a complete miracle because I’ve been waking up at all hours of the night!
Where we choose to focus makes all the difference, my friend. If we focus on the goodness of God, we will find peace.
If we choose to look up, we will see His glory and His love all around us.
As we enter this crazy holiday season, it’s easy to lose our focus on what’s important. I pray that we make a careful choice about where we focus our minds and hearts.
Life will be filled with a whole lot more peace and we are going to enjoy the holidays so much more when we choose to focus on God’s goodness!
Hugs and love,
Jill