Staying Focused

I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus (Philippians 3:14).

I tend to wondering from time to time in my head (daydreaming is the technical term). As I look to see what God will do through me in the upcoming church plant, it’s getting harder to stay focused on what is I should be focused on. The above verse helps me stay focused on what is important.

My calling to preach the message of Christ overshadows everything around me. It makes me a better husband to Teresa, a better son to my parents, a better brother to my sisters, a better friend to my friends, and a better minister to the people God has me to work with.

The idea of the Philippian verse is that of the races that were held back in the first century A.D. At the end of a racing field, there was a pole with a flag hanging on that the runners would focus on as they ran. It didn’t matter what was going on around them; the only thing that was important was the “mark” which was the finish line. As we do the tasks we are called to do, things tend to come at us to distract us. Some of them are Satan trying to throw you off, and some are just natural things. The key is to put on “Spiritual blinders” to block out the unimportant things. Farmers used to put blinders on their animals (i.e. horses, mules, donkeys, etc) to help them do straight lines while plowing. If the blinders weren’t used, the row that the farmer would use to plant wouldn’t be straight. It’s always easier and quicker to go in a straight line to arrive at a destination, than zig zagging. So if we allow things to distract us from doing our God given tasks, it will take longer to complete.

Billy Graham has a saying, “Keep the Main Thing, The Main Thing.” This helped him stay focused on his calling. As he was developing his ministry, there were distractions left and right. When he was young, Hollywood came a knocking for him to make movies. People wanted him to start schools. All could have distracted him from his true calling of preaching the gospel of Christ. As Billy kept his eyes on the “mark” God has called him to complete, I too must not allow things to keep me from completing the tasks God has called me to complete.

Thanks for reading.