FIXING YOUR FOCUS

In this blog I want to continue to look at how to be at our best when life is bringing us its worst. In my previous post I explored what we can do when our thoughts are trending towards being downcast and dark. If, when you wake up from your nice nap, you are still struggling with your thoughts, another factor to consider is your FOCUS. One of the things that can happen, especially when we are going through a big-time trial or an extended time of trouble, is to get very limited in our focus. We begin to obsess over every facet of the trial/trouble, as if it’s the only thing happening in the world. This can lead to what I call, ALL-OR-NOTHING THINKING: If everything isn’t going good, than nothing is going good. When our thinking becomes limited in this way we allow the trouble in our life to influence every other area. There may be serious issues in your life, but there’s no way everything is bad at the same time. When our focus gets narrow we allow the bad to diminish the good and it inevitably drags us down.

There is something very powerful in resisting and refusing to allow a narrow focus to take over your life. Instead of fixating on the bad, all the things that aren’t the way you’d like them to be, force yourself to focus on what is good. This is where praise (giving thanks to God for what He has done) and worship (giving glory to God for who He is) can play a huge role in your life. When you pray, don’t spend all your time praying for yourself and your situation, but devote the greater portion of your time praying for others.

In my next blog, I want us to look at what we can do when our IMAGNIATION is overactive. Until then, force yourself to focus on the good in your life.

Philippians 2:8 (New Living Translation) “Fix your thoughts on what is true and honorable and right. Think about things that are pure and lovely and admirable. Think about things that are excellent and worthy of praise.”