The Center of Our Focus

Read: Isaiah 32:17-20

"Those who know your name will trust in you, for you, Lord, have never forsaken those who seek you." - Psalm 9:10

A person, animal or thing that is the chief object of our attention, interest, activity and/or emotion is at the center of our focus. Every other person and interest takes a back seat. For instance, the sun is the center of our solar system. The planets revolve around the sun. Jupiter is our biggest planet; yet, it is miniscule in comparison to the sun. Anything that is the center of our focus is enormous in comparison to everything else in our life.

What is the center of your focus? Is it your family? Job? Car? Hobby? Money? Health? Beauty? Fame? You fill in this blank: The center of my focus is _____.
So many people find their life spinning out of control because their center is not secure. Fickle Fate comes along and removes the item/person from your life that you set up as the hub of your wheel. Without that hub, your life is at a standstill. You are not going anywhere.

We often allow our life to revolve around a person, animal or thing. We put all of our stock into this item/person and we bet our life on the fact that it will be with us forever. Then, something happens to remove our prized possession and we are left helpless, jaded and forlorn. Jesus Christ is the only entity in life that is the same yesterday, today, and forever (Hebrews 13:8). Everything else is destructible, fallible and temporary.
 
Jesus is our only friend who sticks closer than a brother (Proverbs 18:24), who will never let us down (Hebrews 13:5) and who will never die and leave us alone (1 Timothy 6:16). Our personal, intimate relationship with the Lord of lords and King of kings (1 Timothy 6:15) is the only permanent entity we have in this life. Nothing else will last through eternity. This relationship is vital for the stability of our life. Without Jesus as our center, we are like a boat without a rudder, a bird without two wings, a flag without a pole and a dog without a tail to wag.

Do you have this intimate relationship with the living Lord? He has perfect plans for your life. He wants to prosper you and to give you a future full of hope (Jeremiah 29:11). He is just waiting to give us a quiet and confident heart, a peaceful and secure home and undisturbed places of rest. Regardless of devastating natural disaster, accidents and emotional tragedies, He will give us blessings (Isaiah 32:17-20). Once we completely surrender our life to Him, He takes our heavy burdens and gives us His rest forever (Matthew 11:28).

Surrender is one of the hardest endeavors for a human being. Yielding to God takes no effort, no amount of control, no creativity and no stress. We merely let go and let God take over. We simply allow God to be God in our life. The reason this is so difficult is because, in order to surrender, we must first be willing to rest, to cease from our efforts, to sit down and to take a deep breathe and relax.

It takes a great deal of effort and struggle for a human being to let go. Once we are there, however, we can actually stop striving and enter God’s rest. God gives us His unconditional love freely as a gift (John 3: 16-18). We only have to open our hearts wide and receive His gift of love. When you realize the truth of this concept, you will sit in your quiet place and feel His love cascading over you like a waterfall. His peace will seep deeply into your soul, and you will never want to strive again.

Prayer:

Lord God, it is no small task for a human being to give up. We are not programmed to surrender, but to fight. You created adrenalin for this very reason. It is only when we realize that You will never leave us or let us down, that you protect and provide for us, and that you have our best interest at heart that we can even remotely consider letting go. Forgive me for placing other people and things at the heart of my life. I want You as my center.

Thought for the Day:

It is only by making Jesus the center of our focus that we can enter into His eternal rest.