FOCUS

All will be made right when Aslan comes in sight!” (C.S. Lewis).

“Fix your eyes upon Jesus, the Author and Perfecter!” Hebrews 12:2.

What are we focused on today?  The things we see or the Truth we know?…

I feel a blog post coming on…

This was my Facebook status one morning not too long ago.  I was looking out the window on the 10th day of April, and what I saw was a winter wonderland.  It was so wrong!  I thought to myself:  “It’s like always winter and never Christmas – ‘er, I mean, never spring!”  (If you’ve read The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe, by C.S. Lewis, you’ll get the reference.)

This caused me to realize how our focus is so important.  Sometimes things are not what they seem.  We have to simply fix our minds on Truth regardless of the circumstances we see before our eyes.

For we must walk by faith and not by sight.  2 Corinthians 5:7

Once again, I look at the physical realities, and it seems I can always compare them to a spiritual truth.

I am a runner.  I like distance running.  Long, long distance.  Sometimes, I feel like I could run all day.  Last year, I challenged myself, and I did just that.  I ran for eleven hours and 54 minutes.  (Well, I walked, climbed, jumped, hopped, skirted, skipped, and ambled over a mountainous terrain for that long, anyway…I really can’t say it was all running.  It was really very little running, but much more traversing obstacles.)

One thing that is very important to me, as a runner, is focus.  I set a goal – sign up for a race – and then I focus on training, preparing my body, for that day.  When I don’t have a goal in place, I really have trouble training.  This is one example of how having a focus (a fixed destination, plan, or goal – something we set our sights upon or set our hearts toward) drives us to begin taking steps on the path to accomplishment and success.  I set my sights on finishing a race, and my actions all move toward accomplishing that goal.  Cross. The. Finish. Line.

That’s a good physical comparison.  I can also think of a mental/emotional one.  When I  allow my focus to move toward things I can’t control – or toward my own short-comings, I begin to grow weary and lose heart.  When I become focused on myself, and I begin to evaluate my condition, circumstances, or any aspect of how I am doing, I tend to find something that brings discouragement.  Our focus tends to drive our moods.

When I struggle with circumstances out of my control, I can either beat myself up trying to fix things, or I can focus my eyes on the reality of my helplessness, and instantly be relieved of the strain to bring restoration.  We are only making things worse by stressing over things we have no power over.  Psalm 37 reminds us often…

Do not fret!

I am grateful that we have a restorative God!  He restores all things that He cares about.  He restored my soul after a season of serious brokenness.  He has restored His people Israel – time and again.  He resurrects from the dead.  He brings new life.  He is a Repairer of All Things Good.  That’s why we need to fix our eyes on Him!

Focus is key.  We must learn to focus on Christ when trials come.  Ask Him, immediately, “What is it, Lord?   What am I to learn from this trial?”  He allows circumstances to teach us.  He uses struggles to bring us to trust Him with our all.

I had only heard about you before, but now I have seen you with my own eyes.  Job 42:5

As Job experienced, I went from hearing of God, to seeing Him with my own eyes.  He revealed Himself to me very personally in a time of isolation and despairing.  I have lived just what is spoken of by Job .  I have gone from faith to faith; from a position of belief – of mental ascent – to an action of trust.  I absolutely know He is real, near, and He cares very much for me.

I came to this realization not by my own design, but through enduring things that were completely out of my control and seemingly devastating.  God drew me to Him, as I cried out in anguish.  He spoke sweetly to me, through His Word, through books written by His servants, through sermons spoken by His ambassadors, through songs written and sung by hearts that He’d refined in similar ways, and I came to find a Friend who would love me at all times.  I found a Refuge.  He shielded me from harm, encouraged me, built me back up, and caused me to be stronger than ever before.  We don’t easily forget the One who heals our deepest hurts.  He becomes our focus.  He becomes our life.  We owe Him a great debt, and it’s our desire to bless Him back.

Since enduring that season, and others like it, focus hasn’t been such a problem for me.  He has caught my attention so many times that, now, I instantly think of God in relation to all things.  Now, I know My Sovereign Father, and Jesus, the Friend who sticks closer than a brother or sister.  I know that My Redeemer lives and He will walk by my side forever.  I am not alone.  I have fixed my eyes on Him – the Author and Perfecter of my faith – because He fixed His sights on me, and drew me out of a pit.

I am so grateful – so full of thanksgiving and awe at His tender love for me – there is no one on earth I owe a greater debt to, and so I long to please Him in all things.  I have come to love the Lord God with all my heart, with all my soul, with all my mind and with all my strength!  I didn’t just decide to do so one day.  No.  It doesn’t work that way.  I simply love the One who has shown His love so sweetly to me.

We love because He first loved us.  1 John 4:19

Where is our focus?  Humans are prone to focus on the object of their affection.  Do we love God?  Do we know how much He loves us?  Once we come to know His love, we’ll have no trouble fixing our eyes.

Fix your eyes upon Jesus, the Author and Perfecter of your faith.  Hebrews 12:2