We have all seen this picture. Look at it one way and you see a beautiful young lady with a flowing veil and a lovely face. Look at it another way and you will see another image of an old worn hag. What we see and perceive in the picture depends on where our focus rests. In our lives, circumstances and situations, much like the picture, may not themselves change. But when our focus shifts to Christ, things will always look different.
I have to admit, my focus has been off lately. I have been much too focused on the answers He can provide to my questions and problems rather than on The Answer Himself. And as He revealed that to me, I realized how much of my life I have been viewing as “ugly”. I am making a conscious effort to change that…and to make sure I seek and desire HIM more than I seek the answers. He promised that “all those things” would be taken care of if we simply seek Him first, remember?
So I wanted a practical approach to getting my focus back in line. It is helping me. I hope it can help you, too, if your focus has shifted from it’s correct target.
How to change your focus:
1. Look Backward
Remember what Christ did for you. Remember who you were and where you were headed when Christ
saved you. Don’t forget what it was like to be lost. When we forget how sinful we were…the wickedness in
our heart…we minimize the very grace that is our only hope for forgiveness, peace and freedom.
2. Look Inward
A. Examine your position
When you feel like a “no-body” remember that Christ hand-picked / specifically chose“No-
bodies” (the disciples) to be the ones to whom He entrusted the task of taking the Gospel to the world.
B. Examine your priorities
We must make sure we are pursuing God for a relationship with Him rather than just pursuing Him for
the answers to all our questions. Make sure your time with Him is spent connecting WITH Him rather
than trying to learn some new thing you can share with others FROM Him. Those “new revelations” will
be a by-product of your relationship with the Teacher.
C. Examine your passion
When we are focused on strategies and effectiveness, our hearts unintentionally have become divided!
We are missing the point, and JESUS is the point. Engage Him with the passion and energy we
have poured into out ministry for Him and the other things will flow out of our relationship with Him.
3. Look Outward
Rick Warren said it best in his book, The Purpose Driven Life: “It’s not about you.” As Christians – “little
Christs” - Jesus was our example, and He was a servant. Look for ways to be Jesus “with skin on” to the
lost world around you. That old saying is true…They don’t care what you know until they know that you
care.
4. Look Upward
Pastor Tim gave such a vivid example of this in his sermon this past Sunday. He had a couple stand on
opposite sides of the platform from each other and stare upward at a light. When he gave the command to
walk toward that same light WITHOUT LOOKING AT ONE ANOTHER, the couple eventually met (with a
fairly sizeable bump) directly under the light. When we focus UPWARD on Christ, we cannot help but come
into unity with one another. Our “horizontal” is directly affected by our “vertical”.
“Jesus came to bring us life, but we are so distracted by success, pleasures and approval that we miss Him and His presence, power and provisions.”
--Brian Jarrett, Extravagant
I have to admit, my focus has been off lately. I have been much too focused on the answers He can provide to my questions and problems rather than on The Answer Himself. And as He revealed that to me, I realized how much of my life I have been viewing as “ugly”. I am making a conscious effort to change that…and to make sure I seek and desire HIM more than I seek the answers. He promised that “all those things” would be taken care of if we simply seek Him first, remember?
So I wanted a practical approach to getting my focus back in line. It is helping me. I hope it can help you, too, if your focus has shifted from it’s correct target.
How to change your focus:
1. Look Backward
Remember what Christ did for you. Remember who you were and where you were headed when Christ
saved you. Don’t forget what it was like to be lost. When we forget how sinful we were…the wickedness in
our heart…we minimize the very grace that is our only hope for forgiveness, peace and freedom.
2. Look Inward
A. Examine your position
When you feel like a “no-body” remember that Christ hand-picked / specifically chose“No-
bodies” (the disciples) to be the ones to whom He entrusted the task of taking the Gospel to the world.
B. Examine your priorities
We must make sure we are pursuing God for a relationship with Him rather than just pursuing Him for
the answers to all our questions. Make sure your time with Him is spent connecting WITH Him rather
than trying to learn some new thing you can share with others FROM Him. Those “new revelations” will
be a by-product of your relationship with the Teacher.
C. Examine your passion
When we are focused on strategies and effectiveness, our hearts unintentionally have become divided!
We are missing the point, and JESUS is the point. Engage Him with the passion and energy we
have poured into out ministry for Him and the other things will flow out of our relationship with Him.
3. Look Outward
Rick Warren said it best in his book, The Purpose Driven Life: “It’s not about you.” As Christians – “little
Christs” - Jesus was our example, and He was a servant. Look for ways to be Jesus “with skin on” to the
lost world around you. That old saying is true…They don’t care what you know until they know that you
care.
4. Look Upward
Pastor Tim gave such a vivid example of this in his sermon this past Sunday. He had a couple stand on
opposite sides of the platform from each other and stare upward at a light. When he gave the command to
walk toward that same light WITHOUT LOOKING AT ONE ANOTHER, the couple eventually met (with a
fairly sizeable bump) directly under the light. When we focus UPWARD on Christ, we cannot help but come
into unity with one another. Our “horizontal” is directly affected by our “vertical”.
“Jesus came to bring us life, but we are so distracted by success, pleasures and approval that we miss Him and His presence, power and provisions.”
--Brian Jarrett, Extravagant