Where's MyFocus?

I've sat on this post for a week now, and I've been back and forth to edit and re-edit it at least 5 times. I wasn't quite sure what was missing until this Sunday when our pastor started a sermon series called "Absolute", and it hit me. The missing piece to this entire post was just that. 2 Timothy 3:16 reads, "All Scripture is inspired by God and is useful to teach us what is true and to make us realize what is wrong in our lives. It corrects us when we are wrong and teaches us to do what is right." (NLT) In everything we do we need to prioritize the Word of God and it's absolute truth and benefit in our lives. Keep this in mind as you read, and I'll swing back around to it at the end.

Last weekend, one of our youth pastors made his debut preaching on the main sanctuary stage. He did an amazing job speaking about obedience and faith. During his sermon, he said something that immediately grabbed my attention. I think it resonated, because it is a lesson God is working on with me right now. Early in his sermon he shared the thought that when we are stepping out in obedience our focus has to be right in order for it to produce good fruit. This wasn't the main point of his sermon, but it started me thinking.

Matthew 6:33-34 says, " 'Steep your life in God-reality, God-initiative, God-provisions. Don't worry about missing out. You'll find all your everyday human concerns will be met. Give your entire attention to what God is doing right now, and don't get worked up about what may or may not happen tomorrow. God will help you deal with whatever hard things come up when the time comes.' " (emphasis mine) (MSG) A great pastor I know always says that Christianity is simple, but that doesn't make it easy. These verses are the epitome of that statement. It doesn't get much simpler than keeping our focus on God in order to allow Him to do in our life whatever He needs to accomplish His will.

How then do we achieve this?

The Greek word that was translated as steep in these verses is zeteo and means "to worship, be about, desire, endeavor, enquire for, require, or seek after" according to The New Strong's Exhaustive Concordance of the Bible. Wouldn't it be great if we were able to push out every distraction around us and live in a state of being steeped in God at all times. As much as we may desire to live life this way, it is far easier to say than to actually follow through and do. At least that's how it can feel if our focus is on ourselves and our own abilities and qualifications. Let's not allow ourselves to be defeated before we even attempt to live a life that is worthy of His calling. Let us exercise our faith and step out in obedience even when we don't feel worthy or equipped.

If our life and our focus are steeped in God and His power, His grace and His will, it becomes much easier to be obedient when we feel unworthy or lacking. In order to accomplish a continual focus like this, we must follow Jesus' call to us in John 15:4-5, " 'Abide in Me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in Me. I am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit; for without Me you can do nothing..' " (NKJV) According to Strong's Concordance the original Greek word for abide was meno meaning "to stay (in a given place, state, relation or expectancy), continue, dwell, endure, be present, remain, stand, or tarry for." Again we find a simple concept, but maybe not so easy in our own strength and abilities. The best way to accomplish abiding is to build a relationship with our Heavenly Father that is similar to a marital relationship, where we are always considering how what we do and say will affect our spouse. We must always consider our spouse in the decisions we make to ensure we are making then for the good of our relationship and each of us. We must abide in Him in order for our lives to bear much fruit, for without Him we can do nothing.

So, let us do our part to stay in relation and be present with Him by getting into the Word of God and spending time in prayer and worship getting to know Him, His character and His promises. Let us be open to the revealing of truth and the correction and training that may come with that (2 Timothy 3:16). Let us be obedient to that correction and training, as well as to His call(s) in our life. In this way our lives will be fruitful. When we do our part through obedience, God will always do his. So, let us expect and allow Him to do what he has promised (Matthew 6:34).