Proverbs 4:18-27 NIV
18 The path of the righteous is like the morning sun, shining ever brighter till the full light of day. 19 But the way of the wicked is like deep darkness; they do not know what makes them stumble. 20 My son, pay attention to what I say; turn your ear to my words. 21 Do not let them out of your sight, keep them within your heart; 22 for they are life to those who find them and health to one’s whole body. 23 Above all else, guard your heart, for everything you do flows from it. 24 Keep your mouth free of perversity; keep corrupt talk far from your lips. 25 Let your eyes look straight ahead; fix your gaze directly before you. 26 Give careful thought to the paths for your feet and be steadfast in all your ways. 27 Do not turn to the or the left; keep your foot from evil.
REFERENCES: Matthew 6:34; James 1:22-25
In the here and now, we face a constant barrage of distractions that fight for our focus. Whether distracted by current or past disappointments, the struggle is real! Still, we are blessed to learn of many significant figures in the Bible who demonstrate how to overcome life’s challenges by placing God and his purpose for their lives as their main focus. Ultimately, the men and women of the Bible understood the key of choosing to fight with faith rather than dwelling in the struggle. They did this by leaning on the Lord’s strength to win the hardest of battles. When everything heads south, we have a tendency to hyperfixate on our weaknesses and how we are suffering. Sometimes we become convinced that our faith is weak when life gets tough. That’s human nature, but God knows our weaknesses and only wants to help us. When we fall short, we have the opportunity to access God’s supernatural strength as he leads us to forget the past, embrace today, and focus forward with our faith walk. As the book of Proverbs implores, let’s look straight ahead and remember to fix our gaze on the one that matters the most. Not just, today, nor tomorrow but for the sake of eternity.
I want to focus on what matters and forget what doesn’t, for the sake of eternity
God desires for us to fix our eyes on him so that he can guide us to what he’s intended for our lives. This will require us not just to look ahead, but to also forget all that lies behind. We have a tendency to keep the past present, but today we can choose to let go of past failures and focus on God.
The journey of faith is a winding road which, along with beautiful highs, has some disappointing lows that can make us feel overwhelmed by the struggle. But by recognizing that the struggle is actually the fight of faith we are called to, we place ourselves in the position to win.
As we look to eternity, one of the greatest oppositions to the journey is distraction. Distractions immediately derail our efforts and delay transformation. But God has given us a tool to maintain focus, our hearts. He has instructed us to guard our hearts because everything we do is a reflection of it. When we allow God sole access, and stay focused on the work he is doing, we gain strength to stay in the fight and the overflow of our hearts will touch eternity. Jesus came to convert your struggles to battles and he can win every battle.
This week, identify a current battle in this season of your life and ask God for new weapons to fight.
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