Where Is Your Focus?

Sometimes late at night I get the urge to take a walk and with being single; no husband or kids to worry about right now, I put on my walking shoes and head out the door. Tonight was a little different than any of my walks in the past. I am the type of person who goes for walks - but only with headphones on and my music up high to drown out the silence of my own mind. Yes, I am that type of person you who you probably will catch singing under their breath with half of the lyrics incorrect. 😊 But tonight was different - tonight I left the house with nothing but the sounds of the night and my own thoughts. 

Tonight I began praying for family members in need of salvation - pleading with God to bring someone right into the middle of their lives to speak truth to them. I pleaded with God for friends who are in the midst difficult situations - where hope seems to have run out. I prayed for youth kids who will be the next leaders in our world. And then I asked God to speak to me - I became silent and waited on the Him to speak to me.

His words were very clear and the question was asked "What is your focus? What perspective are you holding on to? Where are you headed?" 

As I was walking, I began to look down at my feet and the road seemed to move at such a fast pace that I almost felt like Usain Bolt - the fast man around - I felt as if the distance and time was flying by me. However, once I looked up and re-focused to the road ahead of me, things began to slow down. I repeated the motion a few more times - because that just who I am - before I heard God whisper to me. "You see Monica, when you focus on just you and your world around you, you lose sight of what's ahead. You miss out on all the good that I have created and all the opportunities I have for you. You also miss all of the warnings of danger and the "stop signs" in life of when I need you to wait on me. When you focus on your feet and the ground right below you, you lose focus on Me." 

All I could respond with was a slower pace of walk and a goofy smile on my face. - This resonated with me in such a way that I had to confuse the seasons of life when all I did was look down at my feet. When I lost my focus on God and let our relationship become stagnant. When I "blew" past the stop signs he had placed in front of me and then wondered why life had become such a mess. I took my eyes off of who defined my life in the first place. My focus became out of focus. My vision was blurred.

In 2 Peter chapter 2 it speaks on false teachers and prophets and how they will make up clever stories and many will be deceived by them. When I lose focus and it becomes blurred, I become susceptible to those false teachings. I began to believe things that don't line up with the Bible. But when I re-focus on Jesus and the truth of God's Word, I can avoid those things that try to bring me down. 

So what is your focus on? What does your perspective look like? Are you looking down at your feet and feeling as if all is out of control? Or do you see the beauty that is around you, the "stop sign" warnings, and a Savior as your guide? 

"I want you to know me more than I want burnt offerings" Hosea 6:6b