I’ve often been heard telling people, “Your focus determines your destination.” Where you centre your attention, your effort or your commitment is going to lead you somewhere. Problem is, that can be good or it can be not so good. In the worst case, it can be harmful.
Your attention, meaning the focus of your mind, is something you have control over. You can give it where you choose, but where you give your attention will impact your world in a major way, and not always positively.
What if I told you that there was an enemy who was seeking to destroy you and he was attempting to disguise his efforts inside your good intentions? Hang on, let’s get our attention on the positive first.
Jesus tells us to “seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness” (Matthew 6: 33) in the middle of a conversation that would do us good to focus on. Jesus instructs us not to worry, not be fearful nor accept that God is far from us. More on that soon, but for now the key point to remember is this:
When we make Jesus our focus then His world becomes our reality.
Unfortunately, when we centre our attention on the issues of the world and make them our most dominant thought, we will fall into a trap. When we give our attention to the worries of the world two things happen:
- We become futile in our thinking, which means by definition, “incapable of producing any useful result.”
- We lose the Truth of Jesus. (Check out the parable of the Soils in Matthew 13.)
If the devil can’t steal your salvation, he will certainly attempt to steal your attention.
If the devil can’t steal your salvation, he will certainly attempt to steal your attention.
Perhaps your worst enemy is distraction?
Where you give your attention will impact your world in a major way, and not always positively.
Let’s test this — how about we do a little self-examination? Just you and your conscience. Compare how much time you spend scrolling Facebook and YouTube for your input against how much time you spend reading God’s Word. Where does your Truth come from?
Jesus warns us in Matthew 6 not to be anxious about life and its challenges. We can look at the trouble or we can look at our Heavenly Father, but not both. To look at the world and its issues is to be “of little faith” (Jesus’ words, not mine!). Jesus is our proof that God is in control! When Jesus is your dominant focus, His peace rules your life.
Perhaps your worst enemy is distraction? Remember, if the devil can’t steal your attention, he will certainly attempt to steal your attention.
The apostle Peter writes about this, warning us all.
“Humble yourselves, therefore, under God’s mighty hand, that he may lift you up in due time. Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you. Be alert and of sober mind. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour. Resist him, standing firm in the faith, because you know that the family of believers throughout the world is undergoing the same kind of sufferings. And the God of all grace, who called you to his eternal glory in Christ, after you have suffered a little while, will himself restore you and make you strong, firm and steadfast.” (1 Peter 5: 6-10)
We can help ourselves, if we take the advice of Peter. We can resist the distraction of the devil by being alert and of sober mind. When we humble ourselves before God we are in essence saying “I trust you God.”
In these challenging times I find my peace comes from spending time with Jesus. When we make Jesus our focus then His world becomes our reality.