Focus

A friend of mine is going through a pretty tough time; tough in every sense of the word. So tough in fact, even her facial features have changed. She doesn’t look or act like the person I know her to be; simply put, she’s in a pit. I’ve talked to her, shared in her pain with her, but exactly what do you tell someone who’s eyes tell a story of desolation; a story of grief; a story of sleepless nights.

In a previous blog I wrote, “The eyes are truly the windows of the soul, for the absence of light leaves the heart empty, desolate and cold…”

Have you ever seen eyes of desolation? If you have, then you know what darkness looks like. Jesus tells us in Matthew 6:22 that the eye is the lamp of the body. But, because it is our hearts that control the way we see things, that very lamp can become darkened.

I will tell you though, I’ve noticed something by observing my friend, and that something is simply this: Anytime you decide to do something for God, the powers of darkness’ new focus is to bring frustration and confusion into your life. See, satan can’t stop us from doing anything, because the Bible tells us that greater is He (Jesus) that is in us, than he (satan) that is in the world. BUT, what satan is very good at is deception; as you can tell, nothing has changed with him since the Garden of Eden. Because satan knows he can’t directly stop us from finding the will of God, he makes it his life’s ambition to get our focus off of God, and onto our circumstances. If satan can accomplish this in our lives, he has done his job of being a deceiver.

Satan will use your bills that are due, he will cause you to hear something totally different than what your friend sincerely meant it to mean, he will try to stress you out at work, he will even try to give you road rage while going to church! If you can become frustrated enough about what’s going on in your life, you would have removed your focus off of Jesus. Tell me, is it possible to focus both your eyes on two different things? No. We can only focus on one thing at a time. Where we focus our attention, our heart tends to be. And Jesus told us that where our heart is, is also where we will find what’s most important to us. [Matthew 6:21]

You know, I took a break from my schedule to write this not because I’m trying to be consistent in updating my blog; I took the time to write this because a close friend’s hurt, just became our warning. Her trial became our lesson. Her pain became our medicine. It is my prayer that she finds comfort in Christ and His peace that passes all understanding, but I pray even more that as you read this blog you will make a conscious decision to not remove your focus off of Jesus, no matter what may come your way. It’s easily said, but it takes the help of the Holy Spirit to be accomplished; so ask Him for help. Life can hit us hard, and sometimes we let it flatten us. But Jesus said in Matthew 7:24-27 that if our foundation is in Him, when trials come, we will stand in spite of our circumstances. If our foundation is not in Christ however, when trials come, we will fall. According to these scriptures, it's really up to us where we place our focus. Either on His foundational Truths, or the circumstantial situations.

Jesus said in Matthew 6:33, “Seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness and all will be added to us.” Prior to this statement, Jesus says in verse 27, “Which of you by worrying can add one day to his life?” Neither of us can add a day to our lives by worrying, so how about we listen to Jesus when He says focus on the kingdom, and He will take care of our needs? What do we have to lose but stress?

I’ve said what I felt pressed to say, but think about this: If you ask God for patience, will He give you patience or the opportunity to develop patience? If you ask God to remove hate from your heart, will He remove the hate or give you the opportunity to love? In the same way, remember that trials are nothing more than opportunities to build faith-faith to say that no matter what happens in my life, I will remain focused on Jesus. Be encouraged friends, we’re all in this together.