focus1“There are those who fix the blame and those who fix the problem.”

These are the words from a friend of mine who often reminds me that when something goes wrong, blaming doesn’t fix anything.  Focusing on the problem and working through it actually makes a difference.

This is good advice as we struggle from time to time in our walk with the Lord.  We are tempted to blame God or blame circumstances when we are called to keep our eyes on Jesus.  Psalm 77:13-14 reads…

Your ways, God, are holy.
What god is as great as our God?
You are the God who performs miracles;
you display your power among the peoples.

It’s easy to get stuck in spiritual naval gazing—focusing on “me,” “I,” and “my issues.”   When this happens we are heading for a hopeless situation.  Believe it or not, there are times when we have absolutely no control over the situations in our lives.  When this happens we are faced with two choices:

  1. Focus on the problem
  2. Focus on the solution–and that would be God

I think you know what we should be doing but the struggle is not knowing it, but doing it.  When we focus on God and His power, our circumstances don’t change but our perspective on them most certainly does.  It’s hard to feel defeated when you consider the power of God and the reality that you are His child.  Creation itself bows before Him.  Humanity is but dust to Him.  There is no one like Him.   And He is watching over us.

Perhaps this is part of why Jesus tells us “do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear” (Matthew 6:25).   He knows our needs and He supplies them.  This doesn’t mean we get a pass on all difficulty, but it does mean our difficulties will eventually pass.

Keep the long perspective.  Keep your eyes on Him.  Watch the Lord as He works in, on, and through you to show the world His holiness and glory.  The “problem” is looking at the wrong thing.  Get your eyes off the problem and start looking at the solution: our Lord Jesus.