Shifting our Focus

Focus… how does such a little word have so much power over where we go?

We live in a fairly rural area and so we like to take the kids on the back roads every once in a while and let them take the wheel. They are both young and so it is still so exciting for them to get unbuckled and hop in daddy’s lap so that they can drive the car. My daughter will drive very slowly and she is focused. She sees the road and she knows where she is going and she is going to get us there. My son… well let me give you some back story.

You see, my son is a great driver when it comes to driving his little 6v pickup truck power wheels around the backyard. He weaves in and out of any objects that are in the way and never hits anything (unless of course it's on purpose. Boys, right?) He stops and backs up like an expert driver, but when he gets behind the wheel of one of our vehicles things change.

He is no longer focused on the road he is driving on or where he is going, actually when he’s driving one of our cars he is focused on anything but the road or safety. LOL Which makes it a very winding and bumpy ride. His focus is not where we all know it should be. His focus is on the buttons in the car. His focus is on that bush or tree that we passed 10 feet ago or how the clouds look in the sky.

He is so confident that daddy is going to correct and steer that he never really bothers to think about where or how we will be getting to our destination.

I think that sometimes I get like that in my walk with God, in my role as a Proverbs 31 woman, wife, mother, friend. I get so focused on distractions and the things that need to be done I forget why I was doing them in the first place. I let the things around me take my attention away from what I am actually supposed to be doing. 

I haven’t lost focus, I have shifted it. I have shifted my focus from God’s plans to the distractions along the way. And let me tell you, it has brought stress and exhaustion and no peace. But then in just a moment, Holy Spirit brings a sweet reminder to focus my eyes back on the Peace Giver, the One who knows all my days before there was even one (Psalm 139:16.)

Shift our focus. Such a simple statement can alter the outcome of any circumstance or situation that we are in. And with the right help (Holy Spirit=Helper) it is just that simple. 

I have learned that the shifting for me is the simple part, and it takes a conscious effort to KEEP my focus there.

Philippians 4:8 Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable-if anything is excellent or praiseworthy-think about such things.

It’s not always easy, but it is simple. 

The next verse the writer tells us to “…put it into practice. And the God of peace will be with you.” 
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Start doing that. It takes conscious effort. It takes persistence. We are not always going to get it right, but we have to work it.

I had a vocal coach that pounded in my head, “Practice doesn’t make perfect, it makes permanent.”  Let’s practice focusing on those things mentioned in Philippians till they become permanent.

Holy Spirit, I ask that you show us today how we can better focus on You and Your plan for our life today in every aspect whether it be in our relationship with Father God, at home, in our marriage/children, friendships, our workplace or any other area of our life. Draw our attention to those things spoken about in Philippians. Help us to practice lifting our eyes to You and drawing nearer. Guide us in focusing on the things that lead us into who You have called each and every one of us to be. Help us to set aside any and all distractions today and come ready to be the “more than conquerors” (Romans 8:37) You have called us to be in Your precious name Jesus, Amen.

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WRITTEN BY: ALEXANDRIA BROWN

For more from Alexandria, visit her website at www.alexandriabrown.org.
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