Focus

I'm going to start this blog by some lyrics from a song: "this world is spinning faster into a new disaster"  These are lyrics from a secular song, but the lyrics are true, and I think it's interesting that even non believers see it.  It seems like every week there's a new disaster, and the love of many has grown cold, just like it talks about in Scripture.  My heart breaks when I look around at the choices that we as a nation are making! Every day/week we are running further and further from the Truth.  It is impossible to be alive and not be bombarded with the sorrow.

Even on a personal level, so many people I know are bombarded with sorrow, and trials.  In my own life, loneliness and chaos seem to reign especially as of late.  I know I'm not the first missionary to struggle with loneliness.  How can a person pick up everything they own, leave everything and everyone they know, and not have moments of loneliness?  God has gifted me with some amazing people in my life here in New Jersey, and I can't thank God enough for them!  However, I miss my family, and get a little tired of worrying about bothering the people up here.  My thoughts are as follows:  My friends up here have their own lives, their own families, and the last thing they need is me hanging around all the time.  Where does that leave me?  That leaves me alone, a lot.  

I'm not telling you this so that you will feel sorry for me, or anything of the sort, but I tell you this because of what it is teaching me.  It is so easy for me to be overwhelmed with loneliness, and with the struggle to keep doing what God has asked me to do in spite of being alone much of the time.  In the same way, in the chaos of life in these days, it is so easy for us to become overwhelmed with our own individual struggles.  

I was having one of those days when I was overwhelmed and a dear friend could tell that I was upset so she sat me down and got me to talk about what was going on.  After I shared with her, she said to me, the first thing we need to remember is that we live in the last days, things are getting more and more evil by the day.  Next she asked me where is your focus.  So this is the question I will post to you.  Where is your focus?  I mean this sincerely, I am not asking this as a cliche question.  I would ask that each one of you that is reading this right now will stop and search your heart.  I also think that this isn't a once in a while question.  I think this is a daily and sometimes hourly question that we need to ask ourselves.  Where is your focus?  Is your focus on Christ our Savior, Redeemer or is it on the storm around you?  Are you looking up at Him or are you looking at yourself in self pity, or are you looking at the circumstances around you?
As humans it is so easy for us to lose track of our anchor because we let go of Him.  We get tossed around by the chaos of life because we reach for other things and forget that once we let go of the One who holds us in place, we are nothing but a buoy in a hurricane.  It is necessary for each one of us to fix our eyes on Christ, in order to survive.  The good thing is that once we re-affix our focus on God above, He grabs hold of us again.  Just like Peter when he was walking on the water, we aren't left to drown.  Jesus didn't come over to Peter and say "you get what you deserved, you didn't focus on me the whole time so now I'm going to let you sink."  No, He reached out and pulled Peter out of the water and lifted him back to where Peter would survive.  He does the same thing for us!
I started this entry with a line from a song, and I will end it with a line from another song, one that is designed to give us hope! "Let go my soul and trust in Him, the wind and waves still know His name".


I'm going to start attaching my email address to every entry.  If you need prayer, or have questions, or just need someone to talk to, email me.  God has given us each other to get through this life, and even if I don't know you, if you need a friend, please reach out to me! I love and pray for each person that reads this.  Crucibleandcrown@gmail.com