Focus is very important in a person`s life. For what you focus on you become. Your lifestyle changes because of what you are focusing on. The way you speak, move, even your company will be based on what you are focusing on. That`s why they say 'birds of a feather flock together,' as in hanging out with people of the same mindset.
In the story of Jesus walking on water, we learn that when Peter asked to go to Jesus, he too walked on water but when he saw the wind he became afraid, and cried to the Lord to save him because he started sinking, (Matthew 14:28-30).His focus shifted and he started sinking, because he was not focusing his gaze on Jesus but on the wind that was blowing.
Many are the times God has delivered us from situations that were difficult but we reach somewhere in life and forget as it is the manner of human beings. We forget that He is our deliverer and what we do is have fear and worry about what is happening in our lives instead of focusing on the Lord to bring us out of the situation. When the wind in our lives blows we are to “be still and know that He is Lord”,(Psalm 46:10).To 'be still' here is to trust God without doubting.I believe if Peter had remained still and stayed focused on the Lord Jesus, he would not have started sinking or even give chance to fear which brings doubt.
Most of the times in life when calamity strikes or even just any sort of trouble, the first thing one tends to do is panic or have an element of fear or anxiety. We are told in scripture “For God has not given us a spirit of fear and timidity, but of power, love, and self-discipline (2 Timothy 1;7). Fear is a tactic that Satan uses to derail us from the path God has set for us. He will cause you to fear to step out in faith so you fail in fulfilling the kingdom`s agenda in your life .
When our focus on Christ shifts, we find ourselves so far away from Him and when trouble comes we cannot see it because we are not connected to Him who sees all things .Our gaze should be on Him only. "Fixing our eyes on Jesus , the pioneer and perfecter of faith. For the joy set before him he endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God."(Hebrews 12:2).
We as children of God are expected to trust wholly in Him even when it seems like there is no way. I had this stomach pain that was so excruciating to a point that all I managed to do for sometime was lie down in bed. During that time I was determined to not complain or worry about my pain but to thank Him. We are told in (Philippians 4:6) “do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God’. So I prayed and cast out the pain from me and just thanked God for healing. I was bent on trusting Him to come through for me. I had to keep focusing on Him to bring me that healing which He did, praise to His mighty name.
Today things have escalated from what they were in the years past. Screen media has made a point of bringing any sort of entertainment to hook the viewer on the screen for long periods of time. This weakens the Christians life as they stay focused on what they see on their screen media.
To be a follower of Christ, calls for total surrender of our lives to Him. Jesus gave them this answer: "Very truly I tell you, the Son can do nothing by himself; he can do only what he sees his Father doing, because whatever the Father does the Son also does, (John 5:19) .If our eyes are focused on the worldly things which Satan eagerly presents to us, then we become blind on spiritual things and we cannot see the Lord as He is working. We end up missing the signs He showing us and we tread on wrong paths that have not been set for us. Remember He is the only way to the Father.
A person who is focused on Jesus will know the way.
Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. If you really know me, you will know my Father as well. From now on, you do know him and have seen him.” (John 14:6-7).Our ways are not to be trusted as they can be faulty.
We need the guidance of the Holy Spirit of God daily so as to walk in the path set for us by God .
Without Him we are nothing and if our ways are not aligned to the will of God we are bound to fail in entering eternal rest with Him. God is Omniscient and His ways are far better than ours that they cannot be compared to any other. There is no fault but perfection in His ways. “My thoughts are nothing like your thoughts,” says the LORD. “And my ways are far beyond anything you could imagine. For just as the heavens are higher than the earth, so my ways are higher than your ways and my thoughts higher than your thoughts ( Isaiah 55:8-9) .
We need to fix our gaze on godly things, ones that do not corrupt us but build us. We are His offspring and anything we do should be glorifying to Him. Our eyes should be focused only on Him and no one else ,not even ourselves ,as He is the one who knows all things and His way is perfect and far better than our ways. I had to stop watching science fiction which I loved, reason because it affects one spiritually and so every time I watched any ungodly scenes, I would dream about those things and so it would interfere with my spiritual life and I decided not to focus on that and those type of dreams stopped.
Satan will try to shift your focus from Christ only if you let him.
Today make a decision to stop any ungodly life and put your focus on Christ Jesus you will surely not be disappointed. Trust in Him in those times when there seems to be darkness, do not entertain any thought of fear or worry or anxiety in your life but know that He is there always, all you have to do is focus.
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