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I have a friend out here in the Southwest who told me the secret to making it through the traffic lights in the city before they turn yellow.
She has learned to concentrate on the crosswalk signs. Here in the city, those crosswalk signs count down to zero. When the red number gets to three and she is almost at the intersection, she speeds up to make it through before the yellow light.
While seeing this demonstrated in an evening outing with her, I laughed as I rode shotgun, dubbing her technique “driving by number.”
I have since put her technique into practice and can proudly say that it really works! I would have never thought to look there had she not mentioned this secret to me.
Let’s universalize this lesson for a minute and apply it to our faith: Where we focus our energies will determine whether we sail through a litany of obstacles in our lives or get bogged down with delay after delay toward our future destination.
I know I can get tunnel vision on the road of my journey and completely not see the solution, because all I am focusing on our those traffic lights that are hindering my progress. If I could just avert my eyes to the solution—Jesus, or in our previous illustration, those crosswalks— then I would have a smoother ride.
Won’t you pray with me?
God, please take my blinders off so that I can see You in front of me at each intersection of my life. Let me be fully aware of Your signals along the way, beckoning me forward. And, God, if I need to ‘gun it’ to get through to the other side in Your timing, make me sensitive to that leading so that I don’t delay. Let me always see my life from Your perspective so that we can road trip through life together at the right speed. Help me to look beyond my circumstances to Your solutions.
In Jesus Christ’s name,
Amen.
— Laura J. Bagby
The more we focus on something, the more we want it.
Isn’t that the truth when we flip through those catalogs in the mail? Suddenly, the item for sale is a “must have.” We were able to live without it before, but now we must “stock up” and buy half a dozen for our fall wardrobe.
Or we have zoned in on that “perfect guy” or that “gorgeous girl.” All we can think about is how to be with that person. We dream about them. We find ourselves secretly smiling when we recall some past conversation with the object of our affection and wonder if they like us the way we like them.
Sports teams win and lose based on their ability to forget about the fans and focus on the play. They practice visualizing a win and then concentrate on grabbing hold of that trophy.
So, if we can focus so heartily on outward things, why is it we struggle with focusing our hearts on the inner life of faith? Read the rest of this entry »
