Words to Grow On

Archive Devotions

April 18, 2005

Ready....Aim....Focus!

by:

Deborah Kisser

Have you ever gone to the pantry to find something? You search and you search for it, only to discover it is right there in front of you. For me, it's my keys. I set them down, become distracted in what I am doing, and move on to something else. Several tasks later, I realize I don't have them. My husband jokingly tells me if I just start out assuming they are lost, we can save a step and find them more quickly.

And what about Waldo? I still haven't found him! The Where's Waldo series was the forerunner to all kinds of books designed to help children sharpen their focusing skills.

In these later books, the idea is to look through visually stimulating pictures and locate the identified objects that have been sprinkled here and there. Sounds easy enough, right? What I haven't explained is there are also decoys in each picture. They catch your attention and lead you away from the object you are trying to focus on.

Our human eye is not made to simultaneously focus on multiple things. We cannot concentrate on what is going on around us and still clearly see what is right in front of our eyes. This is also true of our "spiritual eyes." We cannot successfully focus on God if we allow ourselves to become distracted by what is going on around us.

In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus talked about our focus. Jesus said, "Why do you look at the speck of sawdust in your brother's eye and pay no attention to the plank in your own eye?" (Matthew 7:3 and Luke 6:41.)

The obvious answer to that question is because it is easier to focus on someone else's shortcomings. It is easier to:

•  talk about how "Mary" hasn't been to church in a couple of weeks, than it is to admit we haven't been faithful in our stewardship.

•  focus on the children who fidget during church, than it is to admit we haven't read our Bible all week.

•  remember how we were overlooked for the local officer (lay leader) position we really wanted, than it is to admit that maybe we haven't been the example a local officer should be.

As uncomfortable as it might be to deal with our own shortcomings, we all know how uncomfortable the "plank" can be. Why not let Jesus remove it before it causes any more discomfort?

Prayer

Dear Lord Jesus, You know my heart. You know about my plank already. I need Your help. Remove the decoys in my life so I can focus on what You want me to see.

Amen