Where is My Focus

The past week or so has been a bit stressful. For everyone. I’ll just be honest and say every so often I feel a little anxious. A little overwhelmed. Totally not me. For those that really know me, I’m calm under pressure. I can handle the stressful situations. I can list several examples but will spare you that for now. Today I chalk it up to the times we are living in, the immense amount of information being poured out through all media. The un-knows. The what’s to come kind of thoughts. 

This morning I woke up early (for me) around 4:15 and was coughing a bit so I got up. It’s allergy season folks. I grabbed a cup of coffee and sat in my favorite morning spot, opened my prayer journal and my bible and began to read and write. I had such peace. I thought wow, I don’t feel stressed right now. I wasn’t having the palpitations, I didn’t feel anxious or nervous. I felt peace. There was a real calm in my spirit. I took a deep breath. I breathed HIM in. When my day is filled with HIM there is a calm. When my focus is on the Lord I can face anything. 

Our focus needs to be on Jesus. Probably one of the best examples is Peter. 

 “Immediately Jesus made the disciples get into the boat and go on ahead of him to the other side, while he dismissed the crowd. After he had dismissed them, he went up on a mountainside by himself to pray. Later that night, he was there alone, and the boat was already a considerable distance from land, buffeted by the waves because the wind was against it.

Shortly before dawn Jesus went out to them, walking on the lake. When the disciples saw him walking on the lake, they were terrified. “It’s a ghost,” they said, and cried out in fear.

But Jesus immediately said to them: “Take courage! It is I. Don’t be afraid.”

“Lord, if it’s you,” Peter replied, “tell me to come to you on the water.”

“Come,” he said.

Then Peter got down out of the boat, walked on the water and came toward Jesus. But when he saw the wind, he was afraid and, beginning to sink, cried out, “Lord, save me!”

 Immediately Jesus reached out his hand and caught him. “You of little faith,” he said, “why did you doubt?”

And when they climbed into the boat, the wind died down. Then those who were in the boat worshiped him, saying, “truly you are the Son of God.’”

 There are so many lessons in this passage of scripture but I want to talk about what we need to focus on when the winds start to blow and the storm rises up. When Peter kept his focus on Jesus he had no trouble walking on the water. There wasn’t any fear. The minute he began to panic and focus on the storm he started to sink! No surprise. In the season we are living in right now, we need look no further than this biblical truth to find that our focus needs to be more on God and less on the situation. Of course there will be times when it does get a bit overwhelming. More often than not it is when our focus is on our FB newsfeed or watching the news or reading the hundreds of articles with every worst case scenario.  Maybe you are even having conversations that aren’t healthy and feed the fear. Maybe you are alone with your thoughts. Have you ever said the words “I get nervous just thinking about it!”? Wow! So true! I need to quit thinking about it! There is a big difference between being well informed and being OVERwhelmed with all of the rheteric. Be wise but trust in the only one who brings true peace. When you begin to get overwhelmed there are a few healthy things you can do. First and foremost pray. Bring those thoughts before the Lord. The bible says take every thought captive and ask yourself what does the Word of God say? Does my thought line up or do I need to replace it with what the bible says. Second, call a trusted friend. Don’t let yourself sit in isolation alone with these thoughts. We are honoring and practicing the physical distancing but that doesn’t mean we can’t pick up the phone and call someone. Better yet if you can, FaceTime or use some sort of video chat so you can look them in the eye and smile. Third, fill your house with worship music. Saturate it with His presence. 

My Prayer: Today Lord, I choose to focus on you. The author and perfecter of my faith. Thank you Lord for your gentle reminders when I lose that focus. I pray Father for those out there who can’t seem to shake the worry or anxiousness. Fill them Lord with Your peace. The peace that surpassed all understanding. Guard their hearts and minds. Take away the thoughts and replace them with your spirit. Father, I pray for those that don’t KNOW You! Let this be the day that those without hope, that those who do not have you as Lord of their life receive you as their Savior. With you Lord at our side, we cannot be shaken. I pray Lord that You would bring an end to this virus and heal our planet. In Jesus’ name, Amen.