Focus
"But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness and all these things will be given to you as well. Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own." Matthew 6:33-34
Isn't the last part of Matthew 6:33-34 true? "Each day has enough trouble of its own." Can I get an Amen on that? Each day has enough worries and troubles that even just thinking about tomorrow can stress you out to the point of an anxiety attack. But look at the first part of Matthew 6:33-34. When we start freaking out about tomorrow or the rest of the days to come, God gives us the answer to what we need to do. "Seek FIRST his kingdom and his righteousness...". We are told to focus everything on Him and He will take care of the rest. The first part of 34 is the word "therefore". Therefore means as a result of or consequently. So "Therefore do not worry about tomorrow..." If we seek first His kingdom and His ways and keep our eyes focused on Him the rest will just fall into place.
Sounds easy right? Keep your focus on the Lord and everything will come together, His plan for our lives will come together. Yeah, no. I can only wish that was how it happened. Nothing about that is easy. Our minds and even our hearts are moving a mile a minute all the time. We are always thinking of something or someone. Thinking of what we have to do or the weekend coming up. There is always something going on and our wheels are always turning. I experience this everyday. I can be ADD at times (my close friends will love that I finally can admit to that). I will have a million things going on at once and my attention can drift very easily away from things. I am going through a "wheel turning" moment as we speak. I received a text from someone and ,as most of my friends will tell you I do, I am over analyzing it to no end. I am picking apart words and phrases and it's only a sentence long. My focus was not on the Lord at all. I went into freak out mode.
I will admit it's not easy to get me out of that mode on occasion. But I do have a few tips for you on how to re-direct your mind back to God and not so much on the situation right in front of you that have worked for me.
1) Open the Word. Open God's truth and let it comfort you. Let it encourage you. I have specific scripture that I have memorized for those times when I can't seem to focus my mind on where it needs to be. Here are a few that might help you regain that focus. Proverbs 3:5-6, Philippians 4:6-7, Hebrews 11:1 and Psalm 34:18 are just to name a few, but finding your own too makes it so much more personal for you and God.
2) Write. Yep, write. Write out what you are thinking to God. Write out a cry to God. As you write, your focus is being re-directed back to God and not on the situation. You are pouring yourself out to God so He can fill you up with His love and comfort and a peace that only He can give you.
3) Pray. If that one is not the most obvious. I cannot tell you how many times I have gone into the bathroom at my office or have fallen to my knees in my bedroom and just starting praying and crying out to God. God is the BEST listener. He hears our cries and our pleas. God wants us to come to Him with everything we have. The good, the bad and the ugly.
I will be the first person to admit that when something comes up or "those" thoughts come into my mind I go straight into panic mode. When I begin thinking about my future or where God has me in 5 years or where I am at now, I am on my phone or Facebook looking for a comforting word from a friend. My heart begins to race and my mind is going in about a thousand different directions. What amazes me every time is I will always have one or two friends call, text or message me back saying, "Give it to God" and/or "Journal it". And it always helps re-direct my focus (some times I need a good swift kick) back to God. I pray that one day, I won't need a friend to kick me in the butt to get me to where I need to be, that my mind will naturally go there. I pray that for you as well.
My question today is, where is your focus when something unexpected is said or done? Do you go into "freak out" mode and getting through to you is like trying to run through a brick wall (i.e.... me some days), or do you automatically run and fall to your knees praying for God to refocus your thoughts (me on the good days)? Re-directing your focus back to God during those moments is not easy. Some times you can feel that it's just something else added to your thoughts. But the Bible says to take every thought captive. It says in Philippians 4:8 "Finally brothers, 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." When your mind is going crazy think back to that verse. Call out to God for peace and to bring your focus back to Him. Because I will tell you this, when you can get your mind focused on Him, everything just seems to fall into place. Praying for you my brothers and sister.
In Him and For His Glory!
Isn't the last part of Matthew 6:33-34 true? "Each day has enough trouble of its own." Can I get an Amen on that? Each day has enough worries and troubles that even just thinking about tomorrow can stress you out to the point of an anxiety attack. But look at the first part of Matthew 6:33-34. When we start freaking out about tomorrow or the rest of the days to come, God gives us the answer to what we need to do. "Seek FIRST his kingdom and his righteousness...". We are told to focus everything on Him and He will take care of the rest. The first part of 34 is the word "therefore". Therefore means as a result of or consequently. So "Therefore do not worry about tomorrow..." If we seek first His kingdom and His ways and keep our eyes focused on Him the rest will just fall into place.
Sounds easy right? Keep your focus on the Lord and everything will come together, His plan for our lives will come together. Yeah, no. I can only wish that was how it happened. Nothing about that is easy. Our minds and even our hearts are moving a mile a minute all the time. We are always thinking of something or someone. Thinking of what we have to do or the weekend coming up. There is always something going on and our wheels are always turning. I experience this everyday. I can be ADD at times (my close friends will love that I finally can admit to that). I will have a million things going on at once and my attention can drift very easily away from things. I am going through a "wheel turning" moment as we speak. I received a text from someone and ,as most of my friends will tell you I do, I am over analyzing it to no end. I am picking apart words and phrases and it's only a sentence long. My focus was not on the Lord at all. I went into freak out mode.
I will admit it's not easy to get me out of that mode on occasion. But I do have a few tips for you on how to re-direct your mind back to God and not so much on the situation right in front of you that have worked for me.
1) Open the Word. Open God's truth and let it comfort you. Let it encourage you. I have specific scripture that I have memorized for those times when I can't seem to focus my mind on where it needs to be. Here are a few that might help you regain that focus. Proverbs 3:5-6, Philippians 4:6-7, Hebrews 11:1 and Psalm 34:18 are just to name a few, but finding your own too makes it so much more personal for you and God.
2) Write. Yep, write. Write out what you are thinking to God. Write out a cry to God. As you write, your focus is being re-directed back to God and not on the situation. You are pouring yourself out to God so He can fill you up with His love and comfort and a peace that only He can give you.
3) Pray. If that one is not the most obvious. I cannot tell you how many times I have gone into the bathroom at my office or have fallen to my knees in my bedroom and just starting praying and crying out to God. God is the BEST listener. He hears our cries and our pleas. God wants us to come to Him with everything we have. The good, the bad and the ugly.
I will be the first person to admit that when something comes up or "those" thoughts come into my mind I go straight into panic mode. When I begin thinking about my future or where God has me in 5 years or where I am at now, I am on my phone or Facebook looking for a comforting word from a friend. My heart begins to race and my mind is going in about a thousand different directions. What amazes me every time is I will always have one or two friends call, text or message me back saying, "Give it to God" and/or "Journal it". And it always helps re-direct my focus (some times I need a good swift kick) back to God. I pray that one day, I won't need a friend to kick me in the butt to get me to where I need to be, that my mind will naturally go there. I pray that for you as well.
My question today is, where is your focus when something unexpected is said or done? Do you go into "freak out" mode and getting through to you is like trying to run through a brick wall (i.e.... me some days), or do you automatically run and fall to your knees praying for God to refocus your thoughts (me on the good days)? Re-directing your focus back to God during those moments is not easy. Some times you can feel that it's just something else added to your thoughts. But the Bible says to take every thought captive. It says in Philippians 4:8 "Finally brothers, 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." When your mind is going crazy think back to that verse. Call out to God for peace and to bring your focus back to Him. Because I will tell you this, when you can get your mind focused on Him, everything just seems to fall into place. Praying for you my brothers and sister.
In Him and For His Glory!
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