WHAT'S YOUR FOCUS?

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In Christ, Mark

The scriptures. May God bless the reading of His holy word.

For my prayer will still be against the deeds of evildoers. Their rulers will be thrown down from the cliffs, and the wicked will learn that my words were well spoken. They will say, “As one plows and breaks up the earth, so our bones have been scattered at the mouth of the grave.”

But my eyes are fixed on You, Sovereign Lord; in You I take refuge — do not give me over to death. Keep me safe from the traps set by evildoers, from the snares they have laid for me. Let the wicked fall into their own nets, while I pass by in safety.

Psalm 141:5b-10

This ends this reading from God's holy word. Thanks be to God.

What is your focus in life? What gets your greatest attention?

Is it your work? Is it your family? Is it some hobby or personal interest? Is it yourself?

There is any number of things we could find ourselves fixed upon. The world offers a buffet table full of options but none of them can offer us what the Lord can offer us, the One who makes us His main focus.

David was a man after God’s own heart and we can learn a lot from his life, good and bad. That’s what makes David a great case study for the human existence. He ended up in the lineage and heritage of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ and yet he was a sinner just like you and me. As we will see in this psalm, David had his focus on the Lord but we remember as well that there was a time in his life when he lost that focus with devastating results.

This should serve as a warning to us. We can’t lose our focus on the Lord.

Going to our passage in the 141st Psalm, we find David proclaiming boldly:

“My eyes are fixed on You, Sovereign Lord; in You I take refuge.”

David knew where his source of strength and protection existed. No one could help him like the Lord. The 121st Psalm put it like this:

I lift up my eyes to the mountains — where does my help come from? My help comes from the Lord, the Maker of heaven and earth. He will not let your foot slip — He who watches over you will not slumber; indeed, He who watches over Israel will neither slumber nor sleep.

The Lord watches over you — the Lord is your shade at your right hand; the sun will not harm you by day, nor the moon by night. The Lord will keep you from all harm — He will watch over your life; the Lord will watch over your coming and going both now and forevermore.

The focus here is solely on the Lord, the Helper, Watcher, Protector, and Lover of all mankind. This Lord Almighty was the Lord David had his eyes fixed upon and no matter what our circumstances might be in life, He is the Lord we need to be fixed upon as well.

The scriptures have more to say on the matter of focusing on the Lord. Consider these verses:

So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen, since what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal. 2 Corinthians 4:18

Hebrews 11:1 tells us that “faith is confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see.” By faith, we keep our focus on the Lord. We can’t see Him but we know and trust that He is there, ever with us, ever assisting us, ever guiding us, ever caring for us.

Let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith. Hebrews 12:1b-2a

When I was in the Navy, I had one of my Commanding Officers tell me once that my tour was a marathon and not a sprint. I was working very long hours early on in a one year assignment and he was sharing some wisdom from what he had learned while there. His point was that we need to be careful that we don’t focus too much on the wrong things. In this case, I was focusing way too much on work and losing a grip on taking care of myself a little, like making time for my physical and spiritual well being.

Life itself is much like this. It’s not a sprint but a marathon, a really long marathon in most cases. We will need lots of perseverance and lots of help to make it to the finish line. Paul shares with the Hebrews that we can make it by keeping our focus on Jesus who ran the only perfect race in life, the only life fully fixed on the Father and fulfilling His will and way. It’s little wonder that Jesus tells us that He is the Way and the Truth and the Life (John 14:6) and expects for us to follow His lead.

Why are you down in the dumps, dear soul? Why are you crying the blues? Fix my eyes on God — soon I’ll be praising again. He puts a smile on my face. He’s my God. Psalm 42:5 The Message

I don’t often us The Message translation of the scriptures but couldn’t pass up this version of Psalm 42:5 for it captures what we gain every time we place our focus on the Lord.

There’s a true joy that comes in fixing our eyes on God the Father and His Son Jesus. We’re reminded, no matter our life situation, that we are loved and cared for, already victorious through the salvation promise given to all who place their belief, faith, and hope in Christ.

In the late 1800’s, Lillias Trotter understood the joy that comes when we focus on the Lord and she shared it through her writings, particularly in a tract simply titled “Focused.” A Christian missionary who ministered to Muslims in Algeria for 38 years, Trotter penned the following words which had an impact on many to include Helen Lemmel who read the tract in the early 1900’s. Trotter wrote:

“Turn full your soul's vision to Jesus, and look and look at Him, and a strange dimness will come over all that is apart from Him.”

Helen Lemmel was so inspired by Trotter’s words that she wrote a song in 1922 that has been sung in churches even up to present day. Perhaps you have sung this chorus once or twice:

Turn your eyes upon Jesus,
Look full in His wonderful face,
And the things of earth will grow strangely dim,
In the light of His glory and grace.

Friends, the scriptures, a tract written by a Christian missionary, and a song inspired by a tract all ask us the same question: Where is your focus? Is it on the things of the world or is it on the One who provides life and light and love and glory and mercy and grace?

In the end translation, nothing in the world compares to Jesus because nothing in the world can save and offer eternity as He does.

Today and every day, turn your eyes upon Him and give Him thanks for that.

Amen.

PS: You can read the full transcript of the tract Focused here: Focused

PS 2: You can listen to the song Turn Your Eyes Upon Jesus here: Turn Your Eyes Upon Jesus

In Christ,

Mark

PS: Please share this with anyone you feel might be blessed by it.

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