How many things can you focus on at the same time? In order to be correct, your answer must be, “one!” If you are not sure, then try focusing on more than one thought at the same time, or on more than one object at the same time. It simply is a physical impossibility. The trick is in the meaning of focus, and in the fact that focusing on anything is not easy, especially for long periods of time.This, like so many other physical realities can greatly positively impact our ‘spiritual’ lives. My today’s devotional recommends focusing on God as a means of taking our eyes off our circumstances. That is as true as it is true that focusing on the Devil will help to take our eyes off God’s solution to our problems. The point is that focusing and its benefits are neutral. It does not matter what you focus on, you cannot focus on something else at the same time.We therefore have two challenges. The first is learning to focus, and the second is choosing the right thing or person on which to focus our attention. It is a good idea to address these two challenges in reverse order, simply because the second is the easier to overcome. Every follower of Christ knows that we should place our focus on Jesus. Many of our hymns and choruses remind us of this.
“Turn your eyes upon Jesus.
Look full in His wonderful face.
And the things of this earth will grow strangely dim,
In the light of His glory and grace.”
The bigger challenge is, how? How do we learn to focus on Jesus. A good place to start is to recognize that we have a problem. Most of us who have not as yet attained “prayer warrior” status, will testify that soon after we begin to pray, the tendency is to fall asleep. The disciples of Jesus would understand what I am talking about. Then we can consider the many times that our thoughts, words and actions clearly indicate that, we were not focusing on Jesus. So let us move quickly to some recommendations.
It is a good thing to begin with a growing desire to focus on Jesus. It is in my best self-interest to focus on Jesus, for then I place myself in the best possible position that I could ever be in to enjoy the best that God offers me. Putting it simply, it makes maximum sense for me.With the desire in place, the thoughts and the actions begin to line up. The more time I spend thinking about Jesus, the more I will feed and reinforce my desire to focus on Him. Since focus is all about concentration, focus is a function of time. Concentrating on Jesus is something that I must do every hour and every minute of each day. Fortunately, we have some help, because, although we cannot see Jesus, we have His Word. A good place to start is Philippians 4:8 – “Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things.”Praying, or just simply talking to God is another vital ingredient. Meaningful relationships always include dialogue… and dialogue is always at least a two-way interaction. Again, God Himself will help us to pray when we fall short. Romans 8:26 tells us, “In the same way, the Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us through wordless groans.”My favorite strategy is praise. This is where I get to give God thanks for who He is and for what He has done for me. This is where I get to count my blessings, and name them one by one. This is where I get to tell God how much I love Him, not because I am such a great lover, but because He first loved me (1 John 4:10). And then I acknowledge that love is a two-way street, and because I love God because He first loved me, He requires of me that I love others also, just as He loves me. (1 John 3:16). Somewhere along the line as I enter His gates with praises… I graduate into worship… something best experienced.Finally, it is in practical acts of love that we cement our relationship with Jesus. We do not “work in” our salvation, but we are expected to “work out” our salvation (Philippians 2:12). We are not saved by our good works, but we are saved unto good works (Ephesians 2:10). The day will come when Jesus will say to us, “‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me. (Matthew 25:40)Focusing on anything for a long period of time is hard work, but there are “tricks in every trade”. Focusing in Jesus is one of the easier “trades” to learn. When we begin with a genuine desire, He jumps right in, and helps us achieve that desire. And the things of earth will grow strangely dim, in the light of His glory and grace.
“Turn your eyes upon Jesus.
Look full in His wonderful face.
And the things of this earth will grow strangely dim,
In the light of His glory and grace.”
The bigger challenge is, how? How do we learn to focus on Jesus. A good place to start is to recognize that we have a problem. Most of us who have not as yet attained “prayer warrior” status, will testify that soon after we begin to pray, the tendency is to fall asleep. The disciples of Jesus would understand what I am talking about. Then we can consider the many times that our thoughts, words and actions clearly indicate that, we were not focusing on Jesus. So let us move quickly to some recommendations.
It is a good thing to begin with a growing desire to focus on Jesus. It is in my best self-interest to focus on Jesus, for then I place myself in the best possible position that I could ever be in to enjoy the best that God offers me. Putting it simply, it makes maximum sense for me.With the desire in place, the thoughts and the actions begin to line up. The more time I spend thinking about Jesus, the more I will feed and reinforce my desire to focus on Him. Since focus is all about concentration, focus is a function of time. Concentrating on Jesus is something that I must do every hour and every minute of each day. Fortunately, we have some help, because, although we cannot see Jesus, we have His Word. A good place to start is Philippians 4:8 – “Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things.”Praying, or just simply talking to God is another vital ingredient. Meaningful relationships always include dialogue… and dialogue is always at least a two-way interaction. Again, God Himself will help us to pray when we fall short. Romans 8:26 tells us, “In the same way, the Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us through wordless groans.”My favorite strategy is praise. This is where I get to give God thanks for who He is and for what He has done for me. This is where I get to count my blessings, and name them one by one. This is where I get to tell God how much I love Him, not because I am such a great lover, but because He first loved me (1 John 4:10). And then I acknowledge that love is a two-way street, and because I love God because He first loved me, He requires of me that I love others also, just as He loves me. (1 John 3:16). Somewhere along the line as I enter His gates with praises… I graduate into worship… something best experienced.Finally, it is in practical acts of love that we cement our relationship with Jesus. We do not “work in” our salvation, but we are expected to “work out” our salvation (Philippians 2:12). We are not saved by our good works, but we are saved unto good works (Ephesians 2:10). The day will come when Jesus will say to us, “‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me. (Matthew 25:40)Focusing on anything for a long period of time is hard work, but there are “tricks in every trade”. Focusing in Jesus is one of the easier “trades” to learn. When we begin with a genuine desire, He jumps right in, and helps us achieve that desire. And the things of earth will grow strangely dim, in the light of His glory and grace.
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Uhanan Mimi
Uhanan Mimi
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