Our eye should be single, our heart simple, and our behavior all of a piece…to respect God’s will and glory. (Matthew Henry)

Out-Of-Focus.

I’ve always been a multi-tasker. Usually I am juggling a few things at once, which seemed to work in high school and college, but lately I’ve been seeing how multi-tasking simply adds stress to life and steals my joy. My mind is usually in a million places at once, which is a by-product of being constantly connected to society. Social media and email are often major distractions in my day. As I’ve been working on not constantly “checking in”, the Lord has been revealing to me how much time I actually spend on these things. They often distract me from what is most important and from accomplishing what needs to be done.

Sports have never been my thing. As a matter of fact, when I played volleyball I had the ball fall on my head several times simply because I took my eyes off the ball as it was coming at me. My lack of focus (and sports ability:) cost my team a point..or two or three. My volleyball experiences taught me in a very real way that if I take my eyes off of my tasks and set them on distractions, I will miss what I am supposed to be doing in that very second.

Focus.

I do this often throughout my day. I take my eyes off of Jesus and let the ball drop completely on my head. Instead of “fixing my eyes on Jesus” I get distracted with everything else. My multi-tasking has been robbing me of a life lived with one purpose: to bring God glory.

Esther Burroughs asked this question that continues to grip my heart: “Are you watching for God? He’s there.” My eyes get fixed on so many things at once that I usually can’t see God at work. I focus on all of the details (and often the wrong things) and miss His hand in action. I’ve been reading through the book of Jeremiah and see the exact same tendencies in the Israelites. Over and over (and over) the people worshipped everything other than the One, True God. They wouldn’t listen to His commands and direction and focused only on their captivity. Yet God, being gracious, continually had mercy on them and would remind them that the only thing they need to do is to fear Him and serve Him.

Jeremiah 29:11 was told to the people while they were in the midst of captivity. Their vision was blurry and their eyes were out-of-focus. We often read this verse to make us feel good about ourselves and our situations. However, very few people actually read past verse 11 where the people didn’t pay attention to God. They were focused on everything but serving God and trusting Him. Isn’t that what I do when I worry about everything and try to do too many things? I miss the main things that God has called me to: fear Him and love Him.

I pray that we would have eyes that are single in their focus. Psalm 86:11 says this: “Teach me your way, O LORD, that I may walk in your truth; unite my heart to fear your name.” Is your vision hazy today? Do you need focus? When our eyes are focused on loving God, we may not see things clearly, but we have peace and full confidence that He is in control. 

Sister, let’s be always watching for God and focusing on the things that are important to Him. He will make our vision clear when we focus on knowing Him more and making Him known.

focusing,

Gretchen