Therefore, since we have so great a cloud
of witnesses surrounding us, let us also lay aside every encumbrance and the
sin which so easily entangles us, and let us run with endurance the race that
is set before us, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of faith,
who for the joy set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has
sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. Hebrews 12:1-2
(NASB)
Spiritually speaking we all have an inability to stay
focused. These verses in Hebrews show us
three things: 1.) The Focused Heart Of Jesus 2.) The Distracted Heart We Tend
To Have and 3.) The Heart God Desires Us To Have.
Is your heart focused? Or is it at times distracted. We are all aware of the dangers of texting
while driving. Or, what about putting
makeup on while driving, reading while driving and all of the other things
people tend to do while driving. It
seems we all feel that driving is such a natural and simple thing to do that it
does not require our full attention.
Some might even say, “I can do that with my eyes closed!” (Let’s hope it is just a figure of speech.)
Sadly, too many people seem to believe the same about their
faith. Have you ever heard someone step
away from a call to service or fellowship with, “When you’ve been a Christian
as long as I have…” followed by a reason NOT to serve or attend? Our faith should not be put on
autopilot. When that happens our spiritual
journey can easily get pulled off course.
The writer of Hebrews calls on us to be careful not to get bogged down
and tangled up in the affairs of life to the degree that it distracts from our
spiritual purpose.
Remember Martha. But Martha was distracted with all her preparations; and
she came up to Him and said, "Lord, do You not care that my sister has
left me to do all the serving alone? Then tell her to help me." But the
Lord answered and said to her, "Martha, Martha, you are worried and
bothered about so many things; Luke
10:40-41 Jesus reminded her
that she was distracted ... she had lost the proper focus.
I commend Martha for her serving heart ... and I know Jesus
did too. But sometimes we serve to the point we forget why we are serving and
the service becomes more important than the ones we are serving. We do the right thing in the wrong way. We develop a distracted or an unfocused heart.
It is at the heart level that we
maintain our focus. Jesus wants to focus
our hearts by being the Shepherd of our hearts. Seeing the
people, He felt compassion for them, because they were distressed and
dispirited like sheep without a shepherd. Matthew 9:36
We carry day-timers, cell phones, and iPads to help us stay
focused. Yet the reality is all of our
hearts become distracted with this or that. And it is not that the distraction is even bad
... like Martha ... but it is just not the main focus of what God wants in our
lives. God desires that our heart focus be the heart and life of Jesus.
That which
motivates us is what is key to our focus.
Why we do what we do is important to God for it determines who or what
we serve. A distracted heart will keep
us from the fulfillment God desires us to know.
Beware the “second bests” in life that conflict with our focus.
Scripture to Claim:
But seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and
all these things will be added to you. Matthew 6:33
