Singularly Focused

If I could just get to a place where all my problems were fixed, then life would be easier, more fun and a lot less stressful. And there is a place like that. It's called heaven.

Until then, we live in a world full of problems and trials, like financial shortfalls, job losses, selfish people (including ourselves), illnesses and any number of things that can rob our joy and peace.

So how are we to navigate all this? Are joy and peace truly possible? Or are we destined to struggle through life grasping for what little hope or encouragement our circumstances might provide?

In Luke 11:34, Jesus says:

Your eye is the lamp of your body. When your eyes are healthy, your whole body also is full of light. But when they are unhealthy, your body also is full of darkness.

Think of "eye" as the lens of your life. It's how you see and perceive life. It's the filter by which you process circumstances, relationships, priorities, difficulties, etc.

And the word Jesus uses for "healthy" literally means: simple, single or whole.

Maybe another way to think about it is to say that when our eyes are singularly focused on Jesus, we receive light, instruction, direction, wisdom and knowledge to live in a fallen, broken world. We lock our eyes on Him and we begin to see clearly.

My amazing wife, Robyn, gave birth to our four children completely naturally. (No, that's not us in the picture.) Not a single drop of medication to dull the pain. I don't know how she did it. I would have been asking for any and everything they had to give me if I had to go through labor and childbirth.

So how did she make it through?

I don't know if they still teach Lamaze breathing in childbirth classes, but it's what we learned. It's a way of locking eyes and syncing up your breathing with one another. When a contraction would hit, we would get face-to-face, lock eyes and begin breathing together.

Maybe that's what Jesus is talking about. Lock eyes with Him and breathe together. Don't get distracted by the pain or whatever else is going on around us. Focus on Him alone.

The literal meaning for the word "unhealthy" is: full of labors, annoyances and hardships. It can also mean evil, wicked or bad. Interestingly, it's the same word used in Matthew 6:13 for "evil one" where Jesus says, "And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one."

What if being distracted by the difficulties and hardships of life is giving the evil one influence in our lives that he doesn't deserve to have? But is that what happens when we become more impressed by the size of our problems than the size of our God?

It would be nice if our problems all magically disappeared today, but that's not going to happen. Instead, the Lord has offered us a way to live with joy and peace and to experience His wisdom and direction in the midst of everything that's wrong.

Be singularly focused on Him. Lock eyes with Him. Give Him your attention. Seek Him.

And experience His life flowing in and through you, no matter what's happening around you.