Wednesday, August 13, 2008

~WFW~Focus On God~


2 CORINTHIANS 4:18 NIV ~ "So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.

Many people are convinced they are too bad for God to help, or they have problems that are too big for God to handle. They seem to have more faith in their inability than they do in God's ability. They seem to have more faith in the problem than they do in God. This happens when we focus on the problem, instead of looking to God who is the solution. As long as we focus on the problem and let it consume our attention, we will have faith in it to defeat us.

1 JOHN 4:4 NIV ~ ". . . the one who is in you is greater than the one who is in the world."

We have a choice in what we focus our attention on.

The Old Testament contains an account illustrating how we must look to Jesus and His finished work on the cross, instead of looking at our problems.

NUMBERS 21:4-9 NLT ~ "Then the people of Israel set out from Mount Hor, taking the road to the Red Sea to go around the land of Edom. But the people grew impatient with the long journey, and they began to speak against God and Moses. "Why have you brought us out of Egypt to die here in the wilderness?" they
complained. "There is nothing to eat here and nothing to drink. And we hate this horrible manna!" So the LORD sent poisonous snakes among the people, and many were bitten and died. Then the people came to Moses and cried out, "We have sinned by speaking against the LORD and against you. Pray that the
LORD will take away the snakes." So Moses prayed for the people. Then the LORD told him, "Make a replica of a poisonous snake and attach it to a pole. All who are bitten will live if they simply look at it!" So Moses made a snake out of bronze and attached it to a pole. Then anyone who was bitten by a snake could look at the bronze snake and be healed!"

When deadly snakes are everywhere, biting people on every side, it would be extremely difficult to look up and focus your attention on a pole instead of looking down at the ground where the snakes were. But that is exactly what God instructed the people of Israel to do, and all who did were healed and lived.

Some might wonder why a snake was put on the pole, which was a type of Jesus being hung on the cross. It was because Jesus took our sins on Himself when He hung on the cross. The Bible says that He who knew no sin was made to be sin for us. And on the cross, that old serpent the devil, was defeated and de-fanged!

So, no matter how urgent the problem biting at your heels may seem, God's answer for you is to look up and focus on God's provision. Have faith in God!

God is bigger than any problem you face and can deliver you from any situation, no matter how bad it is.

JOHN 10:29 NIV ~ My Father . . . is greater than all . . .

Instead of thinking of how bad you are, focus on how good God is. His goodness is more than enough to overcome your badness. Instead of looking at what you lack, look at all God has. And remember He is your Father and loves you.

The devil tries to get us to focus on ourselves and our shortcomings, instead of focusing on Jesus and His ability to carry us through to victory.

Whenever the focus is pointing to us, instead of to God, you can be assured the devil has some involvement in those thoughts.

As long as you are focusing on yourself, you are not focusing on God. You have to make the choice.

Where is your focus? I will focus my attention on God instead of on myself and my problems.

To find more Word-filled Wednesdays, visit 160AcreWoods

Blessings!

16 comments:

Nancie said...

Cheryl,

Thanks for sharing this lovely picture, precious verse and very encouraging thoughts.

How true that whenever I look at my problems, they overwhelmed me but when I look unto our Lord Jesus Christ, I found peace and rest in Him. May God give us grace to look to Jesus and His finished work on the cross, instead of looking at our problems!

Thanks for sharing. Have a blessed WFW!

Nancie

Denise said...

Your verses are so precious, love the picture. Bless you sweetie.

Gone said...

Another great post, Cheryl. Thanks!!

~Blessings,
Jan

Tracy said...

Thanks for sharing that beautiful encouragement this morning! I'm making the choice to focus on Christ today. Gorgeous photo, too! (I've never seen that kind of butterfly!)

Thanks for your comments about my family...for years, we've had fun teasing each other about being my Uncle Graddie's favorite niece. He is so precious and gets the biggest kick out of it. I didn't know you had a sister with red hair! (I'll have to take a closer look at those photos!)

Funny that you know a "Breezy" too! Brennan's "Breezy" is an absolute sweetheart. They've been boyfriend/girlfriend since 7th grade (6 years!)

Happy WFW!
ELF

Anonymous said...

Wow!God bless you for reminding us that though we may have days like that, we are never out of reach of God's love!!

Jenn_N_Luc said...

Hi Cheryl, thanks for this post. It was very relevant for me right now. I needed that.

Hope things are going well for you!

Sunny Shell said...

Hey Cheryl,

You are so right! So many people believe that they'll have to become "better" or "good" people before they come to God. What they don't understand is that none of us are "good" enough to attain Heaven and never will be...b/c we've all broken God's commandments!

We come to Christ, just the way we are, but in repentance and humility, grateful for saving us, though we were not worthy.

Bless you dear sister,
Sunny

Kristi said...

Well said! Blessings to you.

Susan said...

...They seem to have more faith in their inability than they do in God's ability. They seem to have more faith in the problem than they do in God.

Wow, how painfully TRUE!! Really sad.

Loved the picture of Jan, she looks good.

Still praying and believing♥

Krista said...

What a wonderful reminder of where our focus should be!

Looking up,
Krista

Laurie Ann said...

Oh Cheryl, what a great post! I love the pic and verse and the message that goes with it. It's amazing how we and our problems diminish when we focus on Christ. Blessings to you and happy WFW!

~Amy~ said...

Thanks for that Cheryl. My focus has been off God this week and I am feeling the effects of it.

Natalie said...

You're right...God's love is present through anything. Great WFW!

Joanne@ Blessed... said...

Cheryl, I was so convicted, "as long as I am focusing on myself, I am not focusing on God".

I think it's time I push myself away from the computer awhile and get some things done around here.

Beautiful post!

Michele Williams said...

Great post! Thank you for sharing and encouraging us in our daily walk with Christ.

Amydeanne said...

Great post Cheryl!
perfect for me today!