Focus –
Ok, I admit it, I can sometimes be very distracted. It just seems like all around me are things that scream to be completed, or demand attention. Bills that need to be paid, a lawn that needs to be mowed, dishes that wait to be washed, the list seems to never come to an end. In fact it seems that as I get two or three items checked off the list, four or five are added.
Plus, even in the midst of working on one task, if I walk to get a drink of water, there are two or three things that grab my attention on the way there or back! At times it is just maddening.
We live in a society, and in a day when one of our major battles is the battle for focus. And this is certainly true among believers today as well. And it is one of the major reasons for our inability to get to that place of intimacy with the Lord that brings us into the place of loving Him with all our heart and soul and strength and mind (Matthew 22:38). There is no way we can nurture intimacy with God if we do not make time to spend focused on Him, His Word and His character. It is an essential to the development of an intimate relationship, time and focus. Jesus said, “Abide in Me…abide in My love” (John 15:7,9). Love is more than an adjective that describes God. The love of God is God Himself: “God is love” (1 John 4:8). The love of God here is His presence around us. That presence is cultivated and grown as w
e spend dedicated time with Him. We cannot cultivate the depth of relationship without spending focused time in His Presence, and learning about Him.
We suffer from such a level of distraction that it is almost impossible at our usual pace to spend enough time to be able, as the Scripture states, to,..”be still and know” that He is God – or who He is, develop that relationship of intimacy (Psalm 46:10). Because of the pace of “modern” society, it takes a great deal of discipline and motivation to say “NO” to the myriad of voices that cry for our attention. This is a two-sided dilemma for us. On one side, we cannot deepen our intimacy without time… yet when we spend time, we find the intimacy that motivates us to spend more time. When we neglect the time, we lose the intimacy and the motivation to spend the time we need to grow the intimacy. So how to be deal with this issue of distractions?
Each of us have different areas of distraction. A mother with young children will have totally different points of distraction than a retired person living alone. However, for each of us, may I suggest that we find, “Anchor Points” in our days that we can tie our lives to.
An “Anchor Point” is some physical location within our home, or perhaps our yard, or some other location, that is dedicated to be the place we spend time with Him. An “Anchor Point” is also associated, not just with location, but with memories. Memories of times when the Lord has touched us or spoken clearly to us. Touch points that draw us back in anticipation of hearing from Him, meeting with Him. In Song of Solomon 6, the Sulamite knew that her beloved could be found in his garden. Find or make some “Anchor Point” for you to dedicate to be where you anticipate His arrival, listen for His voice, and long for His touch. He will come and meet you there. Focus on him, and you can say, “You who dwell in the gardens, The companions listen for your voice – Let me hear it!” – Song of Solomon 8:13.
Forward to a friend
