Loss of Focus Causes Pain
Why is it that we loose focus on the Lord? It would seem that try as I may, I drift away because of the cares of life. I seem to pay attention to the "squeaky wheel" in life as it were, then in desperation (usually when the Lord is correcting me because I am going astray) I turn back to Him. Why does it require intervention on His part to get me to focus on Him? It is a sad experience indeed, why do I do this? Paul was equally mystified and wrote the following in Romans 7:
[Romans 7:14-25] "14 For we know that the Law is spiritual, but I am of flesh, sold into bondage to sin. 15 For what I am doing, I do not understand; for I am not practicing what I would like to do, but I am doing the very thing I hate. 16 But if I do the very thing I do not want to do, I agree with the Law, confessing that the Law is good. 17 So now, no longer am I the one doing it, but sin which dwells in me. 18 For I know that nothing good dwells in me, that is, in my flesh; for the willing is present in me, but the doing of the good is not. 19 For the good that I want, I do not do, but I practice the very evil that I do not want. 20 But if I am doing the very thing I do not want, I am no longer the one doing it, but sin which dwells in me. 21 I find then the principle that evil is present in me, the one who wants to do good. 22 For I joyfully concur with the law of God in the inner man, 23 but I see a different law in the members of my body, waging war against the law of my mind and making me a prisoner of the law of sin which is in my members. 24 Wretched man that I am! Who will set me free from the body of this death? 25 Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord! So then, on the one hand I myself with my mind am serving the law of God, but on the other, with my flesh the law of sin."
So then, it is Sin which is waging war with my mind, thus "I am not practicing what I would like to do, but I am doing the very thing I hate." In my mind I have the thing that I want to do but I seem to drift in life. In effect, the real cause is that I have not kept my eye upon my Savior. He is the one who will set me free. In Romans 8 it tells us that there is no condemnation to those that are in Christ Jesus. I am clothed with His righteousness, not my own. But the drifting from one thing to another is a bother. Is there something in Scripture that would give me an idea of how to combat this?
Notice that the following passage from Proverbs seems to indicate that our attention should always be focused on what we are doing.
[Prov 4:23-27] "23 Watch over your heart with all diligence, For from it {flow} the springs of life. 24 Put away from you a deceitful mouth And put devious speech far from you. 25 Let your eyes look directly ahead And let your gaze be fixed straight in front of you. 26 Watch the path of your feet And all your ways will be established. 27 Do not turn to the right nor to the left; Turn your foot from evil."
We are cautioned to keep watch on where we are going in order to keep our ways established. But it is not only where we go but also what we do that matters. Life happens and it would seem that the more we focus upon God with our minds the more we are prone to not drift off. It's when we cease to focus on the Lord that we start having problems. This is part of the "Fear of the Lord" that causes us to walk straight in life.
[Prov 14:26-27] "26 In the fear of the LORD there is strong confidence, And his children will have refuge. 27 The fear of the LORD is a fountain of life, That one may avoid the snares of death."
So, in order to prosper in what we do it is necessary to focus our attention on the Lord. How often should this happen? The following verse from Psalm 1 indicates that it is more than once a day.
[Psalm 1:1-3] "1 How blessed is the man who does not walk in the counsel of the wicked, Nor stand in the path of sinners, Nor sit in the seat of scoffers! 2 But his delight is in the law of the LORD, And in His law he meditates day and night. 3 He will be like a tree {firmly} planted by streams of water, Which yields its fruit in its season And its leaf does not wither; And in whatever he does, he prospers."
So does this mean that I am supposed to focus on the Lord in the morning when I get up and maybe before I go to bed? How about lunchtime? Should I contemplate Him on a regular basis? I think the answer is an emphatic YES! When the Lord is on our minds "constantly", and note that we still have to get our work done and deal with the rest of life, it's harder for us to get into trouble. In fact when we concentrate on the Lord in this manner and muse and meditate on His word over and over, we start to really understand the Lord and we find His knowledge the way that we are supposed to.
[Prov 9:10] "9 The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom, And the knowledge of the Holy One is understanding."
Maybe I have been missing out on it. Maybe my struggle has been in the wrong direction. If we really understand the Lord and start seeing things from His perspective we will naturally graduate towards doing His will in all things. We will start seeing how important it is to follow the direction that He has laid out in His word. The following verses are worth considering when contemplating this problem. More Later.
[I Tim 4:8-10] "discipline yourself for the purpose of godliness; 8 for bodily discipline is only of little profit, but godliness is profitable for all things, since it holds promise for the present life and {also} for the {life} to come. 9 It is a trustworthy statement deserving full acceptance. 10 For it is for this we labor and strive, because we have fixed our hope on the living God, who is the Savior of all men, especially of believers."
[II Tim 2:4] "4 No soldier in active service entangles himself in the affairs of everyday life, so that he may please the one who enlisted him as a soldier."
[II Peter 1:2-4] "2 Grace and peace be multiplied to you in the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord; 3 seeing that His divine power has granted to us everything pertaining to life and godliness, through the true knowledge of Him who called us by His own glory and excellence. 4 For by these He has granted to us His precious and magnificent promises, so that by them you may become partakers of {the} divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world by lust."
[I John 2:15-17] "15 Do not love the world nor the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. 16 For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh and the lust of the eyes and the boastful pride of life, is not from the Father, but is from the world. 17 The world is passing away, and {also} its lusts; but the one who does the will of God lives forever."
[Romans 7:14-25] "14 For we know that the Law is spiritual, but I am of flesh, sold into bondage to sin. 15 For what I am doing, I do not understand; for I am not practicing what I would like to do, but I am doing the very thing I hate. 16 But if I do the very thing I do not want to do, I agree with the Law, confessing that the Law is good. 17 So now, no longer am I the one doing it, but sin which dwells in me. 18 For I know that nothing good dwells in me, that is, in my flesh; for the willing is present in me, but the doing of the good is not. 19 For the good that I want, I do not do, but I practice the very evil that I do not want. 20 But if I am doing the very thing I do not want, I am no longer the one doing it, but sin which dwells in me. 21 I find then the principle that evil is present in me, the one who wants to do good. 22 For I joyfully concur with the law of God in the inner man, 23 but I see a different law in the members of my body, waging war against the law of my mind and making me a prisoner of the law of sin which is in my members. 24 Wretched man that I am! Who will set me free from the body of this death? 25 Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord! So then, on the one hand I myself with my mind am serving the law of God, but on the other, with my flesh the law of sin."
So then, it is Sin which is waging war with my mind, thus "I am not practicing what I would like to do, but I am doing the very thing I hate." In my mind I have the thing that I want to do but I seem to drift in life. In effect, the real cause is that I have not kept my eye upon my Savior. He is the one who will set me free. In Romans 8 it tells us that there is no condemnation to those that are in Christ Jesus. I am clothed with His righteousness, not my own. But the drifting from one thing to another is a bother. Is there something in Scripture that would give me an idea of how to combat this?
Notice that the following passage from Proverbs seems to indicate that our attention should always be focused on what we are doing.
[Prov 4:23-27] "23 Watch over your heart with all diligence, For from it {flow} the springs of life. 24 Put away from you a deceitful mouth And put devious speech far from you. 25 Let your eyes look directly ahead And let your gaze be fixed straight in front of you. 26 Watch the path of your feet And all your ways will be established. 27 Do not turn to the right nor to the left; Turn your foot from evil."
We are cautioned to keep watch on where we are going in order to keep our ways established. But it is not only where we go but also what we do that matters. Life happens and it would seem that the more we focus upon God with our minds the more we are prone to not drift off. It's when we cease to focus on the Lord that we start having problems. This is part of the "Fear of the Lord" that causes us to walk straight in life.
[Prov 14:26-27] "26 In the fear of the LORD there is strong confidence, And his children will have refuge. 27 The fear of the LORD is a fountain of life, That one may avoid the snares of death."
So, in order to prosper in what we do it is necessary to focus our attention on the Lord. How often should this happen? The following verse from Psalm 1 indicates that it is more than once a day.
[Psalm 1:1-3] "1 How blessed is the man who does not walk in the counsel of the wicked, Nor stand in the path of sinners, Nor sit in the seat of scoffers! 2 But his delight is in the law of the LORD, And in His law he meditates day and night. 3 He will be like a tree {firmly} planted by streams of water, Which yields its fruit in its season And its leaf does not wither; And in whatever he does, he prospers."
So does this mean that I am supposed to focus on the Lord in the morning when I get up and maybe before I go to bed? How about lunchtime? Should I contemplate Him on a regular basis? I think the answer is an emphatic YES! When the Lord is on our minds "constantly", and note that we still have to get our work done and deal with the rest of life, it's harder for us to get into trouble. In fact when we concentrate on the Lord in this manner and muse and meditate on His word over and over, we start to really understand the Lord and we find His knowledge the way that we are supposed to.
[Prov 9:10] "9 The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom, And the knowledge of the Holy One is understanding."
Maybe I have been missing out on it. Maybe my struggle has been in the wrong direction. If we really understand the Lord and start seeing things from His perspective we will naturally graduate towards doing His will in all things. We will start seeing how important it is to follow the direction that He has laid out in His word. The following verses are worth considering when contemplating this problem. More Later.
[I Tim 4:8-10] "discipline yourself for the purpose of godliness; 8 for bodily discipline is only of little profit, but godliness is profitable for all things, since it holds promise for the present life and {also} for the {life} to come. 9 It is a trustworthy statement deserving full acceptance. 10 For it is for this we labor and strive, because we have fixed our hope on the living God, who is the Savior of all men, especially of believers."
[II Tim 2:4] "4 No soldier in active service entangles himself in the affairs of everyday life, so that he may please the one who enlisted him as a soldier."
[II Peter 1:2-4] "2 Grace and peace be multiplied to you in the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord; 3 seeing that His divine power has granted to us everything pertaining to life and godliness, through the true knowledge of Him who called us by His own glory and excellence. 4 For by these He has granted to us His precious and magnificent promises, so that by them you may become partakers of {the} divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world by lust."
[I John 2:15-17] "15 Do not love the world nor the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. 16 For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh and the lust of the eyes and the boastful pride of life, is not from the Father, but is from the world. 17 The world is passing away, and {also} its lusts; but the one who does the will of God lives forever."