Where is your focus?
I painted this picture 2.5 years ago during my senior year of college. For the past few months I’ve stared at it and pondered the quote “What’s behind your eyes holds more power than what’s in front of them.” I remember looking through art books for inspiration and came across it and thought “oooh, that’s good.” Yet now I’m not so sure…
- I’m not one to watch the news but this past month I’ve found myself engrossed in it. I’ve followed the coverage on what’s going on in Iraq, Ferguson, Los Angeles etc. Destruction is all around us. Death. Injustice. Poverty. Murder. It causes one to become depressed, defeated, helpless and hopeless. “Lord where are you?” This past month I’ve wrestled with more questions about God than ever before. And that is okay. God welcomes our questions. He wants to reveal Himself to us, He wants to show us His goodness. We are living in a fallen world. Bad things happen because we have an enemy whose only mission is to steal, kill and destroy BUT we have an even greater God who is Sovereign and His mission is to give life more abundantly. “Lord how do we fix this?” “You don’t. Just trust me. The battle is not yours but Mine. I’ve called you to go into the world; a world full of destruction and share the goodness of my love, to share the forgiveness and redemption I have to offer. Focus on me because you can’t do anything. Now this might sound a bit depressing to some but it’s so freeing to my ears. On the field my team and I will come face to face with the results of this fallen world but it brings me great peace to know that our job is not to fix it, it’s to simply trust that God is in control of it (not responsible, but in control). Our job is to fix our eyes on Him, the author and finisher of our faith, not ourselves seeing our own limitations. The question God has been asking me is, “when I am faced with these things will I allow what I see in the natural to cause me to doubt what I know to be true in the spiritual?” God said “it is finished; the battle has already been won. The enemy and death have already been defeated.”
a. Even in our own personal life, when we start focusing on our circumstances we lose focus and forget who God is and what He has done in the past. We start to doubt His goodness and faithfulness. Instead of focusing on your circumstances focus on the One who has the power to really do something about them. Trust Him.
- When I think about this quote I think about self. In a world of self help books flying off the selves, self promotion on social media etc it’s easy to become entirely consumed with your life, your career, your future, your finances, your family; your story. You in a sense you allow yourself to become a dictator of your own faith by being consumed with yourself but when we focus on self we often miss out on opportunities to see Gods hand moving through other people’s lives. I asked God, “how is one to be a catalyst for change? He kept reminding me of the importance of relationships. When we “stop for the one” (Heidi Baker). When we personally invest in the lives of others. Even when it’s simply asking them “how their day is going?” and stopping to actually listen. Think about when someone asks you about your day or shows an interest in your life, how does that make you feel? Important? Loved? Valued? Exactly! All the things that each individual regardless of age, race, status, culture desires. There is power when we take the focus off of ourselves and step into the world of someone else. When we act out of selflessness. I believe that is how you change the world or at least the life of 1 person who can then turn around and do the same thing for another and so on and so forth. I’ve learned that one of the ways that I worship God is through one on one conversation with people. It always blows my mind to hear what God is doing in someone’s life, even when they don’t recognize it or acknowledge that it’s Him. There is so much power in the relationships we build. Invest in someone else’s story, in their needs. God has called us to love Him and love others as we love ourselves; not love ourselves never to show that same love to another. As you do that He will surely take care of you.
So my prayer this year as we travel around the world is for a fresh perspective. Instead of God where are you in the sense that destruction has the upper hand, I will ask “God where are you because I know you are ALWAYS working and I want to be a part of it.” Lord take my focus off of self and give me the capacity to love others the way you do. Help me invest in the lives of others remembering that This. Is. Not. About. Me!
I hope all this made sense. I have so many thoughts in my head right now as I prepare to leave. All of this feels like a dream. I remember praying about the World Race, whether this was something God was calling me to do. I remember getting confirmation and applying and getting accepted and interviewed as if it were yesterday. 9 months later here I am. In less than 8 hours I will board a flight to Atlanta and in a week my team and I will be heading to Guatemala. Crazy how times flies and even more crazy is how God has provided abundantly. I’m leaving with only $3,000 left to raise until I am fully funded. I cannot believe it. I remember sweating bullets trying to figure out how to raise enough for our first deadline ($3500) now here I am with less than that to raise! And that is alllll to you guys/gals. There is no way I would be here without your prayers, encouragement and financial support. This is not just my journey but I believe God wants to take us all on this journey together and I am so thankful that you have chosen to come along!!
THANK YOU!!!
