YOU ARE TOO CLOSE TO LOSE FOCUS: LET'S KEEP FOCUSED…those of us who want everything God has for us" (Philippians 3:15 MSG) Focus doesn't come easily or naturally; it's a discipline that must be practiced daily!
The power of focusing can be seen, for instance, in LIGHT. With a magnifying glass, the rays of the sun can set the paper on fire! But when Light is FOCUSED even more as a laser beam, it can cut through steel! Just as it is with Light, so it is with LIFE; nothing is as Potent as a Focus! The men and women who make the most significant difference in life are the most Focused! For instance, the Apostle Paul said, "I am bringing all my energies to bear on this ONE THING." (Philippians 3:13 TLB). Paul's obsession was to make Christ known, and maintaining a Focused Life, allowed him to do just that. So, if you want your life to have an impact, FOCUS it! Remember: "You Become Effective by Being Selective!" This means, in a nutshell: Stop Dabbling! Please stop trying to do it all! Do less. Turn away from even suitable activities and do only that which matters most. I learned a hard lesson that I hope you'll remember easily: Never Confuse ACTIVITY With PRODUCTIVITY!
Paul told Timothy to Focus on his strengths: "That special gift…you were given…keep that dusted off and in use." (1 Timothy 4:14 MSG). Focused people don't hide their weaknesses or excuse them; instead, they focus on their strengths!
There's a story about a couple who decided to build a farm. Then they began to argue. The wife wanted to build the house first. The husband wanted to make the barn first to house the animals. They went back and forth until finally, the man said, "Look, we have to build the barn first—because the barn will enable us to build the house, the garage, the silo, the kid's swing set, and everything else!" In other words, When You Focus on Putting FIRST Things FIRST, Everything Else Falls Into Its Proper Place Automatically!
Another way to look at it is this: Why focus on the number of people called instead of the critical FEW chosen?! Remember: "You'll Become Effective By Being Selective!" So, make sure your selections today are those Few things and people that Matter Most!
"Do not swerve to the right or the left." Proverbs 4:27 NIV
Bear this in mind; Focus does three things for you:
(1) IT KEEPS YOU ON TARGET: We find ourselves pulled in a dozen different directions, spending much of our time and energy on things we don't care about. Author Don Marquis put it this way: "Ours is a world where people don't know what they want and are willing to go through hell to get it." The Bible says: "Let your eyes look straight ahead…Do not swerve to the right or the left." (Proverbs 4:25-27 NIV) Focused People Develop a Discipline that helps them to Stay On Target Without Swerving to the Right or the Left! Distractions Invite Detours From Your God-Given Destination! So, Stay Focused!
(2) IT INCREASES YOUR ENERGY: Attempting everything, like attempting nothing, will suck the life right out of you! Focus gives you energy. Admiral Richard Byrd, the Polar explorer, said, "Few men come anywhere near exhausting the resources dwelling within them. There are deep wells of strength that are never used." One of the reasons those wells go untapped is the LACK OF FOCUS. The mind doesn't reach toward achievement until it has clear objectives. Focused People have Learned to Focus All of Their Efforts Into One Thing or One Direction, which in Return Replenishes the Energy and Strength that was Zapped from Multiple Activities that didn't Produce an Ounce of Productivity! All you desire will COME TOGETHER once you stop letting everyone and everything PULL YOU APART!
(3) IT LIFTS YOU: It's been said that "the world stands aside to let anyone pass, who knows where he or she is going." In a sea of mediocrity, just knowing what you want to do and trying to pursue it distinguishes you from almost everybody else. Henry David Thoreau asked, "Do you ever hear of a man who had striven all his life faithfully and singly toward an object and in no measure obtained it? If a man constantly aspires, is he not elevated?" Just by striving to become better than you are, you become elevated—even if you don't accomplish all of what you desire and even if others don't step aside for you. By trusting God and aiming higher, you move to a higher level—Regardless. Staying Focused Isn't All About Elevating to Another Level, Another Position, Another Title. Staying Focused Gives You The Best and Highest Level of Elevation There Is…Which is Simply Becoming a Better You Today Than You Were Yesterday, and a Better You Tomorrow Than You Were Today! Now That's What You Call a Worthy Elevation!
"Acknowledge Him, and He shall direct thy paths." (Proverbs 3:6).
When it comes to staying focused, keep in mind these three additional notes:
(1) FOCUSED PEOPLE ALWAYS LOOK FOR A BETTER WAY: What got you where you are won't necessarily get you where you need to be. A family who moved into a new neighborhood got a late start one morning. As a result, their 6-year-old missed her school bus. Though it would make him late for work, her father agreed to take her to school if she gave him directions. After 20 minutes of going in circles, they finally arrived at the school, which turned out to be only a few blocks away from where they lived. Steaming, her dad asked why she drove him all over when the school was so close to home. "We went the way the school bus does," she said. "That's the only way I know." Focused People Don't Get In a Rut, Nor Do They Get Stuck and Stagnant! They Continuously Reinvent Themselves and How They Do Things. They Grow and Change Constantly! They Don't Regress; they Progress! They're Forever Moving Forward, Looking to Do Better In 2022 Than They Did in 2012! If Everything You Do Is Still Done the Same Way and The People, You Are Around Are Still the Same People, You, My Friend, Are In Serious Danger of Never Becoming Better!
(2) FOCUSED PEOPLE CONCENTRATE A LITTLE HARDER AND A LITTLE LONGER: Hall of Fame baseball player Hank Aaron said, "What separates a superstar from the average ballplayer is that he concentrates just a little bit longer." Focused thinking can remove distractions and mental clutter to concentrate with clarity. Examine Your Thoughts, Examine Your Emotions, Examine Your Speech, Examine Your Attitude, Examine Your Heart, Examine Your Habits and Certainly Examine Your Associations and Immediately Remove Anything or Anyone That Clutters Your Clarity or Breaks Your Concentration! Keep In Mind: Folly and Focus Can't Dwell In the Same Place!
(3) FOCUSED PEOPLE MAKE COMMITMENTS, NOT EXCUSES: A sign on the desk of an officer at the Pentagon read: "The secrecy of my job does not permit me to know what I'm doing." It's a cute joke, but not so cute when true. You become frustrated and fail when you don't know what you're doing. That's why praying and getting direction from God is critical for every area and aspect of your life. "Do not swerve to the right or the left," says the Scripture. To' Swerve' means 'to make an erratic deflection from an intended course." In other words, your lack of Focus, when heading in the direction of your destiny, will cause you to' swerve' – or stray from the intended course God has set for your life. Therefore, you must never forget: "In all your ways acknowledge Him, and He will make your paths straight." (NIV). And when He does—STAY FOCUSED!
"No, dear brothers and sisters, I have not achieved it, but I FOCUS on this ONE THING: Forgetting the past and looking forward to what lies ahead." (Philippians 3:13 NLT)
Failure always results from saying yes to too many things. Because something is good doesn't mean it's right for you. When your plate's full doing what God has given you to do, learn to say no to everything else! "No" doesn't mean never; it just means "not now."
Know that you'll permanently lose when you: Fight the wrong battle; Fight at the wrong time; Fight when you shouldn't be involved; Fight because you need to win to feel good about yourself; Fight, though the battle has been lost, your pride won't let you swallow it! Instead, learn to Stay Focused on your goals. Keep your eyes on the prize that God has set before you. And be warned: If the enemy can't defeat you, he'll distract you with side issues or disqualify you by getting you to make bad decisions. Either way, he wins, and you lose!
"No, dear brothers and sisters, I have not achieved it, but I FOCUS on this ONE THING: Forgetting the past and looking forward to what lies ahead." Notice 3 more things about Focused people:
(1) FOCUSED PEOPLE DON'T LIVE IN THE PAST: Too many of us yearn for the past and get stuck in it! Instead, we should learn from the past and let go of it. Elbert Hubbard wrote, "A retentive memory may be a good thing, but the ability to forget is a token of greatness. Successful people forget. They're running a race. They can't afford to look behind. Their eye is on the finish line. They're too big to let little things disturb them. So, if anyone does them wrong, they consider the source and keep cool. It's only the small people who cherish revenge. So be a good forgetter success demands it."
(2) FOCUSED PEOPLE DON'T THINK ABOUT THE DIFFICULTIES, BUT THE REWARDS: If you dwell on the difficulties too long, you'll start to develop self-pity instead of self-discipline. As a result, you'll accomplish less and less. On the other hand, by focusing on results, you'll stay encouraged. Make Christ your example. "He was willing to die a shameful death on the cross BECAUSE OF THE JOY HE KNEW WOULD BE HIS AFTERWARDS." (Hebrews 12:2 TLB).
(3) FOCUSED PEOPLE CHOOSE THEIR FRIENDS CAREFULLY: Here are five types of people you'll encounter: 1) REFRESHERS—who strengthen your faith and energize you; 2) REFINERS—who sharpen you and clarify your vision; 3) REFLECTORS—who mirror your energy, neither adding to nor subtracting from it; 4) REDUCERS—who try to diminish your goals and efforts to their comfort level; and 5) REJECTERS—who don't understand you or what God's called you to do. You will have to encounter all five of these people at some point in time! So, remain focused, and you'll stay grounded; the praise of others is less likely to go to your head, and the negative impact of your critics will be minimized!
"Now the LORD had said unto Abram, get thee out of thy country, and from thy kindred, and thy father's house, unto a land that I will shew thee." (Genesis 12:1 NLT)
I wonder why God would take people like Moses or Abraham away from their familiar environments after He called them—uprooting them from Family and friends to use them for more significant works. But the more I look at where I was, where I'm at, and where I'm going, the more I understand why God does such a thing as this. The harsh reality is there are many limits put on us By Our Very Own Loved Ones! Especially those that have watched us come up and fall many times before. Often, their perception of us distorts our vision and causes us to doubt ourselves, God, and even the planned purpose He has for us. But what we must remember is, whenever someone says you can't do it or be it, they are a liar! Because the Bible Clearly Declares, "I can do all things through Christ which strengthens me." {Philippians 4:13} Understand that too often, people will speak into your life according to what THEY were able or NOT able to accomplish on their own. They will judge you based on what they could or, Moreso, what they couldn't do themselves. But Listen: A vision is only seen by the bearer of it, and because you were selected to bear it, it is, therefore, invisible to others. They only get to see the back of it after the glory of it has passed by (Exodus 33:12-21) That's why folks get mad with you because they want to see the personal face-to-face of your vision but must settle for the hind parts instead! So, prepare yourself because when God chooses you to carry out a dream, not everyone's going to understand what you're doing or why. So, they'll label you based on the outside because they don't have inside access! Don't let them shift your Focus because they can only see the container and not the contents!
"And they said one to another…this dreamer cometh…let us slay him…and we shall see what will become of his dreams." {Genesis 37:19-20} Listen: Don't feel bad when you don't have a lot of friends and Family around or when people abandon you and walk away. Count it all joy because those that God wants in your life will never leave, and those that are from Him will never lead you astray. Friends and Family are good to have, but God often removes them, so prepare yourself for it. Don't fight it. Stop holding folk's hostage in your life that need to be set free! Allow God to add and subtract what's best for your multiplication! There's so much more to you than meets the eye, so surround yourself with people that can see past your appearance. If you Stay Focused, you'll say like Joseph, "… Don't you see, you planned evil against me, but God used those same plans for my good…" {Genesis 50:20} Need I remind you; Joseph didn't say that to enemies, or even friends, but FAMILY!
"Isn't this the carpenter?" {Mark 6:3} Please be careful around those who love to say, "I knew you when…" to label or limit you. When David volunteered to fight Goliath, his faith was an embarrassment to his big brother Eliab, King Saul's army officer. Think of Eliab's position, "If my little brother wins, everybody will ask, 'How come you couldn't do it—big brother?'" Beware: your decision to step out and follow God will pressure others around you! And the first place you'll feel it will be amongst those closest to you, especially if your calling sets you apart and takes you higher than them! The Bible records that Eliab "burned with anger at [David] and asked, 'Why have you come down here? And with whom did you leave those few sheep in the desert? I know how conceited you are and how wicked your heart is" (1 Samuel 17:28). Take Note: Before David could overcome Goliath, he had to overcome the thoughts and opinions of those around him, especially his Family. And you will too! Look at the life of Jesus. When He went back to His hometown they said, "What's this wisdom…given him, he even does miracles! Isn't this the carpenter? Isn't this Mary's son…they took offence at him. Jesus said to them, 'Only in his hometown, among his relatives and in his own house is a prophet without honor.' He could not do any miracles there, except lay His hands on a few sick people and heal them…he was amazed at their lack of faith." (Mark 6:2-6)
Bottom line: Don't allow those "who knew you THEN", to hinder where you're going NOW! Neither friend, Family nor foe! STAY FOCUSED!
"…Stay close to the king wherever he goes." (2 Chronicles 23:7 NIV)
Commercial flying can be a real adventure. Like the day Pastor Ron booked a last-minute flight to the Northwest to support some Native American friends who had just lost their young son. He was supposed to fly into Spokane, Washington, but fog shut it down and he was diverted to another airport for the night. So, the airline put him up in a hotel overnight and promised they'd do their best to get him to Spokane the next morning. Pastor Ron knew if he didn't get to the reservation that next day, he would have missed what he was going for. He really needed the real scoop on whether his plane was going to get into Spokane. Thankfully, from a casual conversation at the hotel, he knew who the captain was. So that next morning, as he waited around trying to get some word on the fate of his flight, he saw the captain headed for a payphone in the airport. He made sure he got close to the captain; he was calling to check the current Spokane weather. Then, as he walked over to the gate agents in charge of his flight, Pastor Ron overheard him say, "Well, we'll try Spokane, but I think there's only a 20% chance we'll get in. We'll probably end up back in Denver where we started." Well, that inside information helped Pastor Ron pursue alternatives – one of which got him where he needed to be when he needed to be there.
There was one reason Pastor Ron knew where to go – He Stayed Close to the Captain. That’s how all of us are going to know what we're supposed to do and where we're supposed to go – and that's by Staying Close to the Captain of our flight, Staying Close to Captain Jesus!
There are eight words in 2 Chronicles 23:7 that I've typed out and posted on my wall at work. These eight words remind me of the secret of knowing and doing what God has planned in any given situation. In this chapter, a coalition of military and spiritual leaders is working to put the rightful king on the throne in Judah – even though he's only a boy. The temple staff, the Levites, are given a straightforward assignment, and here are those eight words, "Stay close to the king wherever he goes." That's our assignment, too. And when we fulfill this assignment, we'll be led naturally and supernaturally – into the next steps we're supposed to take. Just like that day at the airport when Pastor Ron got his direction just by staying close to the captain. He had the information Pastor Ron needed, but he never would've known that information Except For His Proximity to the One Who Knew. It's like that with knowing God's Will for our lives. It's not your cleverness in figuring it out; It's Your Closeness to the God Whose Will You're Looking For! That's the Focus of John 10, which describes us as sheep following our Shepherd. Jesus said, "My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me" (John 10:27) NIV. See, it's about being where you can hear His voice – not figuring out some spiritual jigsaw puzzle called "The Will of God."
If you're needing to know God's direction right now, don't focus so much on figuring out The Plan. Focus on staying close to the man, to Jesus, whose plan it is. Living in God's Will isn't supposed to be this stressful spiritual mystery game. Relax and do the things that get you really close to the person Who is the Pilot of your earth-journey. Or in the words of the Bible, "Stay close to the King … wherever He goes! "Unfortunately, in this day and time of the church, too much attention is being Focused on Fleshly Leadership! But God's Word still declares: "You can't depend on anyone, not even a great leader. Once they die and are buried, that will be the end of all their plans. The LORD God of Jacob blesses everyone who trusts Him. God made heaven and earth; He created the sea and everything else. God always keeps His Word." {Psalm 146:3-6 CEV}. Stop focusing on the arm of flesh, for it will fail you every time. Instead, Stay Focused on Your Captain, Your Leader, Your King, Whose Word Never Fails! Knowing With Assurance that Once He Gives You Direction, You Are Guaranteed to Make it to Your Intended Destination!
It is indeed my prayer that you will now set your heart, mind, and spirit to the things of God and the Will of God for your life, and that you will allow nothing and no one to distract you or deter you from destiny, Not Even You! People of God, Stay Focused and Finish Strong! Because You're Too Close to Manifestation to Lose Sight of the Vision Now!
"If your parents ever measured you as a child, they had you stand against a wall and made a little pencil mark on the wall to show your growth. They did not measure you against your brother, or the neighbor's kids, or kids on TV. When you measure your growth, make sure to only measure your today self by your past self. If you compare your relationships, your success, or your anything against anyone else, you are not being fair to you. Everyone has a different path, a different pace, and different challenges to face along the way." (Doe Zantamata)
Blessings
J.P. Olson
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