Being able to have a fixed focus on the Father is not something that comes naturally to any of us. If you don’t agree, just sit for five minutes and try to maintain a single focus on God without getting distracted. How did it work for you?
Living on a natural level always leaves you open to being pulled to the right and to the left in your thoughts, which tends to eat up all of your time. What about the Father and giving Him the time that He deserves?
As you can probably agree, keeping a fixed focus on the Lord without help is next to impossible. So to have this ability, we must allow the Holy Spirit to work within us His fire and the cross of Christ, which brings about a preparation and purity (pure heart) so that we can keep Him ever before us in thought.
Yes, this is a huge challenge, and without a fixed focus on the Father, we will be drawn off every time. It can be just like most spiritual movements that spring up. They tend to start out with a real purity and focus on God, but over time, can start to go downhill because of man’s promotion, pride and corruption.
Daniel was one of the great leaders of the Old Testament because of one thing. He faithfully opened his window toward Jerusalem three times a day and focused on the Lord. Through allowing the Lord to work this purity in our hearts, we will be able to keep a fixed focus on Him, just like Daniel did.
4 Responses
Well said! Nicely presented….very blessed at this one
Maintaining a focus on God is much easier when one focuses upon His Word! John 1:1 states, “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God and the Word was God.” The two are in separable! For they are ONE! Verse 2, “He (Who?) was in the beginning with God. In Genesis 1:26, “God said, “Let Us (Who?) make man in Our image.” Verse 3, “All things came into being by Him, and apart from Him nothing came into being.” Verse 14 states, “The Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, glory as of the only begotten from the Father, full of grace and truth.” Verse 18 states, “No man has seen God at any time; the only begotten Son, who is in the bosom of the Father, He has explained Him.” He, (WHO)? Who is HE? Jeshua Hamshika,
Jesus Christ the “First-born” of a new race or generation of people! We are to pattern ourselves after Him! Why? Because He is the only One who can reveal the invisible Father to us because Christ is in the bosom of the Father, the Father was in Christ reconciling the world unto Himself! Now we are to become living Epistles read and known of all men.
Like a child we are learning and leaning into the joy of hungering to know Him in His unquenchable Love He shows…everywhere we go!
That fixed focus I contend for with you.
I agree wholeheartedly with you Jim! A focus set upon the Lord is crucial to hearing Him more clearly.