I don't have an epiphany on what "life is like, " but what I do have is a new perspective on how to look at life and how I relate to God. And, as in many things, God spoke to me during an activity.
My husband took me to the shooting range a few weeks ago. Now, stick with me here, regardless of whether you enjoy shooting or are terrified of weapons (I used to be, too). I pray you'll find my lesson one you can glean something from either way. As usual, I digress. . .
Back to my story. . . As my hubby was coaching me and helping me tweak my skill, I had trouble focusing on my target. The more I focused on where I wanted the bullet to go, the more I missed. I can still hear his voice in my ear, "focus on the sights, not the target." Let me help you understand what he meant.
The majority of handguns have both front and rear sights. While the cosmetic makeup of the sights differ from weapon to weapon, their purpose is the same: line them up with the target. When training to use a handgun, you have to rely on the sights rather heavily. If the front sight is not lined up correctly with the rear sight(s), the bullet will end up anywhere but where you want it. While you need to aim correctly, where your eyes focus is absolutely key in your accuracy. Here's an image to help you ("POI" stands for "point of impact):
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| image courtesy of https://canadianshooter.wordpress.com/ |
As you can see (no pun intended), if your sights are out of alignment, you're not going to hit where you're aiming.
So here's where the crazy thing happened - I was adjusting my aim, focusing in on the sights, making sure they were in perfect alignment, and my eyes went in and out of focus. I wear no-line bifocals, so shooting can be a challenge in and of itself, but when my eyes are wigging out, well. . . . you can only imagine. Much to my surprise, however, when I had a clear sight picture, and my eyes were in perfect focus, I pulled the trigger and hit exactly where I was aiming.
It was then that I heard God's voice. "Isn't it the same with Me? When you are perfectly, intently and fully focused on Me, don't you have peace and feel fulfilled?" A smile crept upon my lips and I let out one of those "yeah, I get it" kind of laughs.
But, ever since that day, I have been mulling this over in my mind. How completely stunning and powerful is this truth? When we are not focused on the end game, on the final destination, on the "just one more thing" or even just when we stop flailing around in our emotional distress and purely focus on the Most High God do we have peace and joy. When all we want to do is please Him and bring Him honor and glory and praise with our lives, we have a deeper and fulfilling sense of purpose and destiny. When we finally surrender and pour ourselves out at the Cross, only to be filled with the love and peace of God, we are secure and joyful and whole.
But, as soon as we let our focus wander, we sink in our hearts and minds, just like Peter sank in the water:
Then Peter called to him, “Lord, if it’s really you, tell me to come to you, walking on the water.” “Yes, come,” Jesus said. So Peter went over the side of the boat and walked on the water toward Jesus. But when he saw the strong wind and the waves, he was terrified and began to sink. “Save me, Lord!” he shouted. Jesus immediately reached out and grabbed him. “You have so little faith,” Jesus said. “Why did you doubt me?” When they climbed back into the boat, the wind stopped. Then the disciples worshiped him. “You really are the Son of God!” they exclaimed. (Matthew 14:28-33, NLT)Peter took his eyes off of Jesus and he fell. Of course, Jesus rescued him, but the first thing He asked Peter was why he doubted! Is that what happens when we doubt? It starts so subtly. We are reading or we are praying and a stray thought comes in and we shake our heads and try to refocus. Slowly, the minor disruption pulls a little harder, like the wind blowing on that stormy sea, until we are so distracted that we can no longer look at what we are doing and see God in it, when He clearly is in the middle of rescuing us from ourselves. Doubt slowly enters our minds and the enemy snickers and starts dancing his little happy dance because he has been successful in throwing us off course. We begin to get consumed with overwhelming details that simply do not matter in the grand scheme of things and we forget that our Heavenly Father already has everything worked those pesky details out and knows exactly where we are and where our journey is taking us. But, before we know it, we are crying out from broken hearts and wounded souls because we simply let our focus drift.
Perhaps I have this backwards, but I feel like what God is telling me is don't worry about where you're going to end up - the destination itself isn't the primary focus. Don't get me wrong, we have an eternal destiny that we are to strive towards, but we can't get there by focusing on ourselves and the minutia of life. I don't know what voice you're hearing, but I keep hearing the Lord say to me, "Stay here, with Me, in this moment. Trust me. I already know where all this is going. I've got it all under control."
That is why I tell you not to worry about everyday life—whether you have enough food and drink, or enough clothes to wear. Isn’t life more than food, and your body more than clothing? Look at the birds. They don’t plant or harvest or store food in barns, for your heavenly Father feeds them. And aren’t you far more valuable to him than they are? Can all your worries add a single moment to your life? “And why worry about your clothing? Look at the lilies of the field and how they grow. They don’t work or make their clothing, yet Solomon in all his glory was not dressed as beautifully as they are. And if God cares so wonderfully for wildflowers that are here today and thrown into the fire tomorrow, he will certainly care for you. Why do you have so little faith? “So don’t worry about these things, saying, ‘What will we eat? What will we drink? What will we wear?’ These things dominate the thoughts of unbelievers, but your heavenly Father already knows all your needs. Seek the Kingdom of God above all else, and live righteously, and he will give you everything you need. “So don’t worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will bring its own worries. Today’s trouble is enough for today. (Matthew 6:25-34, NLT, emphasis mine)Seems so simple, doesn't it? Not a chance. It takes practice, determination, FOCUS, just as learning any skill does. If we worked as hard on learning more about God and strengthening our relationship with Him as we do to accomplish anything else in our daily lives, we would be so much happier and at peace.
Set your clock. Make time to read and meditate on God's Word. The treasure that awaits you there is beyond your imagination. The wealth of this world is nothing compared to what God has for you. What Paul said centuries ago still rings true today. . .
I once thought these things were valuable, but now I consider them worthless because of what Christ has done.Yes, everything else is worthless when compared with the infinite value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have discarded everything else, counting it all as garbage, so that I could gain Christ and become one with him. (Philippians 3:7-9, NLT)
While it feels good to hit the target, the joy is fleeting and leaves us wanting for more. Focus in on Jesus and begin to feel a joy beyond words, a peace beyond understanding and a love which can not be measured.
When I think of all this, I fall to my knees and pray to the Father, the Creator of everything in heaven and on earth. I pray that from his glorious, unlimited resources he will empower you with inner strength through his Spirit. Then Christ will make his home in your hearts as you trust in him. Your roots will grow down into God’s love and keep you strong. And may you have the power to understand, as all God’s people should, how wide, how long, how high, and how deep his love is. May you experience the love of Christ, though it is too great to understand fully. Then you will be made complete with all the fullness of life and power that comes from God. (Ephesians 3:14-19, NLT)Don't worry, you are not alone if you think you're lacking this kind of focus. I am preaching to myself, here, too. But, I'm ready to live for something and Someone other than myself and be filled with the promises God has for me. Tell me friend, how about you?
