Keep Your Focus: Find Peace in God

Scott and I have this old person exercise routine that we try to do every morning. It is a little bit of stretching, some strengthening, then we end by balancing for 1 minute on each foot before getting off the floor in one smooth movement without using our hands. It really isn’t much, but it makes us feel like we are taking care of ourselves. When we first started trying various balance poses, Scott was having a hard time holding his for a full minute. As I turn everything into a competition, I was enjoying watching him struggle. I don’t know why, but I did advise him that if he would pick one spot on the floor right in front of him and not look away, he would be able to hold it longer. It worked. Now he can often hold longer than I can.

It is so bizarre. Try it. If you are balancing on one foot and move your eyes to check out the TV or to check the time on the clock, you are more likely to fall than when you keep your focus on one spot the entire time. 

The same can be said about our lives and where we put our focus. Hebrews 12:2 tells us to “fix our eyes on Jesus.” As long as we are focused on Jesus, reading His word, praising His name, seeking after Him, it is easier to remain standing than when we focus on the circumstances around us. Easier than when we focus on what others have that we don’t. Easier than when we focus on how hard life can be, or focus on times our prayers weren’t answered the way we wanted. All of those distractions cause us to lose our balance.

One of my favorite scriptures that I stand on often is Philippians 4:6-7. “Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank Him for all he has done. Then you will experience God’s peace, which exceeds anything we can understand. His peace will guard your hearts and minds as you live in Christ Jesus.” Let’s break this down.

1. Focus on Christ by praying about everything. Tell him what you need and continuously thank him for what he has done. This is a living daily focused on Christ.

2. When we do this, we experience peace – a peace that no one can explain or understand. A peace that comes only from God. I have personally experienced this unexplainable peace at various times in my life when everything was in chaos, but inside, I had peace. I didn’t have answers nor did the situation change, but I had peace.

3. This peace guards our hearts and minds. God’s peace guards us against anxiety, it guards us against fretting. We don’t have to live in a state of panic because our hearts and minds are protected when we put our focus in the right place – Jesus.

I have been in a couple of meetings recently that created a great deal of stress. I could feel it in my body. My thoughts were all over the place, but mostly full of anger with fantasies of just spouting out every mean thing I could think onto people involved. I wasn’t the person I want to be.

I began to practice the steps above. Not like a magic incantation, but as a way of changing my thoughts. I began to thank the Lord for all the wonderful amazing things He has done in my life. I was honest with God that I needed help and wisdom. Not like magic, but I am better. I’m in a place where I have confidence with who I am, not what others say about me. I know who my provider is, and I know that I am a child of God. My perspective is changed because my focus is changed. I’m not focused on me. I’m focused on the Lord who through David tells us in Psalm 16:8, “I keep my eyes ALWAYS on the Lord. With Him at my right hand, I will not be shaken.” (NIV)

This isn’t a practice to only walk through when battles are raging. It is a way of life. Try it.

P.S. Let me know if you try standing on one leg. I want to hear how it works for you. I would also love to hear how you stay focused on Christ in your life.