Friday, June 2, 2017

Focus!


No eye has seen, no ear has heard, no mind has conceived what God has prepared for those who love him.
1 Corinthians 2:9

“I can put it in the upper ninety (top corners of the goal) any time I want,” Carson said, in response to his soccer coach’s, “Show me whatchya got!”
“Blah, blah, blah! You’re puttin’ me to sleep! Don’t tell me…do it!” Coach K hollered.
Bam! Top right corner of the goal.
“But can you do it again?”
Bam! Bam! Two more to follow the first!
Coach said, “Do it again I’ll buy you a milkshake.”
Bam! Perfect!
Coach decided to see if he could get inside the kid’s head, “I knooow you can’t do it again,” he goaded, with more than a little insolence, “You haven’t got five in-a-row in you!”
Carson set the ball, lined up the kick, and let it fly…right over top of the crossbar. “Crap…I knew I was gonna miss it!” he conceded.
“That’s why you missed,” Coach K said. “You lost focus. I watched your eyes drop to the ball in preparation for the kick, but you closed them just before contact.” He let that sink in. “It’s not enough to know how and where to kick the ball, Carson. You took your eyes off the mark by letting me distract and intimidate you. You have to learn to play through the distractions. You have to remain focused on the end-result until that end is achieved…every time!”
We can put in long hours of practice and look great in our uniform. Then the whistle blows, and Bam! we lose confidence and make stupid mistakes. But by allowing God to use our adversity to teach us, these experiences can tune us up for victory.
We should look to gain experience and strength when subjected to distractions through adversity, gleaning battle-wise confidence by focusing on God and what He can do, asking for spiritual wisdom and strength.
We will all face adversity on our way to the promise in today's text.
But, if we do as Coach K suggests: remain focused on the end-result until the goal is achieved, we will be able to focus on God through the adversity as we face each new day.

Prayer

“Lord Jesus, adversity and life’s trials try to distract me from Your promise, help me remain focused on You and You alone. Amen.”

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