While sitting at my desk this morning a million thoughts are running through my mind, all at the same time. Does that happen to you? You know, the thought super-super-highway? I keep trying to revert my thoughts back to what I’m doing — studying the Word — and things are creeping in, my workday, my to-do list, my after work list, etc., and I’m just fighting for focus. It truly is a battle sometimes. So, I start looking for re-enforcements, those things that will calm my mind so I can concentrate on one task at a time (which is super difficult for a life-time ADHDer) and slowly but surely, as I pick just one thing and read and re-read, the Spirit calms my mind and helps me to focus. That’s where He speaks to me, but mostly that’s where I can hear — in the calm.
As I’m reading through many different things to get to the calm, I came across the following post from 2020 entitled Focus. The funny thing about it is I also came across a completely different post I’d written in 2018 also entitled Focus. Obviously, this is not a new thing for me, looks like about every two years or so I admit the struggle. As I read through that 2020 post, it reminded me of how often I am completely focused on the wrong things — maybe that’s why I struggle?
FOCUS
A funny thing happened the other day at the office…we were tasked with a particular assignment officewide for which we all needed multiple reminders. This was a particularly important task that needed everyone’s cooperation. Throughout those reminders we were urged to “focus.” In response to the last gentle reminder of the task came the following:
I’m sorry. I lost focus.
I smiled at the apology but I belly-laughed at the explanation. The more I read that simple statement: I lost focus, the more I read that explanation, the more convicted I felt – I stopped laughing. You know that nagging feeling about something in particular that makes you think. The kind of nagging that makes you know the Lord is speaking to you – that was happening to me right here. As a Believer, a Follower of Christ, I am tasked to live out my beliefs. The Lord gives many, many gentle (and not so gentle) reminders to me to focus. I find myself daily having to say:
I’m sorry. I lost focus.
Oh, good, I’m glad I’m not alone… It should be so easy to follow Peter’s directive: Be alert and think straight… but we just don’t consistently operate like that in this crazy world with the millions of distractions, do we?
The other morning I was getting ready for work. I kind of have a process for getting ready – wash my hair, wash my face, brush my teeth, put lotion on my face, stick some product in my hair and I’m ready to roll. I’m doing my thing, thinking about my day and what lies before me, and I notice that something is really wrong with my face – it’s super chapped and when I try to smile, where I can get my face to move, it feels like it’s cracking. Ahhhh!!! What in the world is going on – this is not part of my daily routine. Then it dawns on me – I had just moisturized my face with hair gel – yes, ooey, gooey hair gel! Ugh! I was gettin’ it with my daily routine and I LOST FOCUS!!! I was supposed to be focused on getting my hair gel in my hair, but I was focusing on the day ahead instead, the wrong thing at the wrong time! How in the world can that happen? Duh! Beth lost focus.
I note both of these focus lessons occurred within a couple of days of each other. His gentle reminders… Beth, don’t lose focus. He says the same to you. So, exactly what should we be focusing on, there’s a ton of stuff happening out there, right?
Since you have been raised to new life with Christ, set your sights on the realities of heaven, where Christ sits in the place of honor at God’s right hand. Think about the things of heaven, not the things of earth. For you died to this life, and your real life is hidden with Christ in God. Colossians 3:1-3
Right there it is. It could not be spelled out more clearly for us. Ok, but if we have to live here for now, what does it look like, how do we do that? We focus in on the eternal not the temporary, looking at everything we do and everything we are with Heaven’s eyes, with Heaven’s priorities in mind. We look at our lives here, in the temporary, with God’s perspective, eternity.
Guard your heart above all else,
for it determines the course of your life.
Avoid all perverse talk;
stay away from corrupt speech.
Look straight ahead,
and fix your eyes on what lies before you.
Mark out a straight path for your feet;
stay on the safe path.
Don’t get sidetracked;
keep your feet from following evil. Proverbs 4:23-27
We guard our hearts, watch our mouths, look straight ahead, follow the narrow road, and focus, lest we fall into sin. Putting hair gel on my face is not exactly evil, but it’s a great example of what can happen when we lose focus – things can quickly get sticky when our focus takes a detour. Who knew you could learn so much from hair gel?
So, how do we stay focused on eternity in the tasks of our daily lives? We cannot will ourselves to focus, that obviously does not work, that’s relying on human power instead of on God’s power. We focus on the only One who can give us all we need to protect us from the distractions of this world. If Jesus is our focus, if we live for Him, if the Kingdom of God, eternity, is our primary concern, He will give us all we need. Don’t lose focus.