Fixing our Focus

There is no doubt that the world is full of evil. These days seem to be getting darker and darker, presenting us with situations that are unthinkable. Sometimes it can feel like the enemy is laughing at us, while he throws more and more fiery darts our way. It can be hard to breathe, hard to smile, and hard to even think straight. 

Yet, in all this evil, in all this pain, and in all this confusion and chaos, we still have a choice to make. As we enter the new year, an important question comes to mind: “What will we focus on?” Will it be all eyes on Jesus, or all eyes elsewhere? Will Jesus be our one focus, or will we have divided hearts that chase after whatever catches our attention? Will we truly love God with all our hearts, all our minds, and all our souls, as Matthew 22:37 tells us, or with only a little bit of our hearts?

If we let our focus rest on the darkness around us, we will quickly lose hope, because we will begin to think that darkness is all there is to this life. So rather than zeroing in on the darkness, we need to zero in—all eyes, all focus, and all attention—on Christ. However, lifting our eyes to Jesus does not mean ignoring the evil. Of course, we want to do something about the evil, but in order to be an effective light in this dark world, we need to focus on the greatest Light there is—Jesus. Isaiah 26:3 (NLT) reminds us, “You will keep in perfect peace all who trust in You, all whose thoughts are fixed on You!” The more we witness evil, the more we must take time to get away from the noise, distractions, and darkness, and come into the shelter of His presence, getting swept away by His beauty, love, and power as He takes center stage and our full attention is on Him. We can do this through prayer, worship, reading His Word, and even spending time alone with Him, without any agenda, in order to simply enjoy who He is. 

In this life, it is easy to focus on all the wrong things. Even if our focus isn’t on the darkness, our attention can drift to what’s “cool and popular,” and what everyone else is saying and doing. However, neither leads us in the right direction. Romans 12:2 (AMP) reminds us “And do not be conformed to this world […with its superficial values and customs], but be transformed and progressively changed… by the renewing of your mind [focusing on godly values and ethical attitudes]…” We must evaluate, and reevaluate, what, or who, is truly taking first place in our hearts. What or who has our full attention? What or who has our complete devotion and affection? Is it really Jesus, or do we just say it’s Jesus, but live otherwise—letting other things and people rival for first place? 

It really boils down to—on a day to day basis—whether we value those things, people, or even our own dreams more than we value God. We must realize that there is a place in our hearts that belongs only to God, a hole only He can fill, and that we actually function best, live our best lives, and impact the world best when God is our first priority. We must get to a point where we can honestly say that God means more to us than anything and anyone. In our hearts, there cannot be anyone above Him, and there cannot be anyone next to Him, but everything must be under Him, even ourselves, because He alone is God. When we place Him above it all with no equal to Him, everything else falls into its proper place, and it’s always better this way. In a world of so many things that compete for our attention, we must learn to maintain God as the only One who holds first place in our hearts, because He is the One who gave it all to us in the first place. He is the Giver of every good and perfect gift, as James 1:17 says. Without the Giver, we don’t have the gifts. 

So let our minds wrap around Jesus this year. Let the cry of our hearts be like Psalm 86:11 (NIV; emphasis added), “Teach me Your way, LORD, that I may rely on Your faithfulness; give me an undivided heart, that I may fear Your name.” Let us go to Him first, not last, and not second either—but first, because He is the best place to go to with our questions, fears, joys, and everything in between. Let our entire beings, our whole souls, our whole minds, and our whole hearts, be united in a singular focus every moment of our lives—Jesus—delighting in Him who is our greatest joy and greatest blessing. 

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