Refocus... and be on GUARD

Sometimes I have to ask myself how focused I am.. whether it be work, school, home life or… the ‘M’ word. Marriage. Or the ‘F’ word. Future. Better yet, put them together and you have future marriage. I find that when I solely focus on my future, things get wrecked pretty fast. However, if I focus on what God wants for me, everything is on an even keel.

Philippians 4:4-5 (NASB)

⁴ Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, rejoice! ⁵ Let your gentle spirit be known to all men. The Lord is near.

We must rejoice in the Lord. Our happiness cannot be found anywhere else. Jesus. I love the Jeremy Camp song, “Give Me Jesus.” This is my prayer sometimes, when I don’t know what to say. This is my comfort and my crutch.

In the morning, when I rise……When I am alone…….When I come to die
Give me Jesus.
Give me Jesus,
Give me Jesus.
You can have all this world,
Just give me Jesus.

Jesus alone can fulfill our every heart’s desire. I struggled today with thoughts that I knew were wrong, thoughts I fought. I kept thinking.. what would it hurt? Who would really know? Well, I would, for one. And Jesus would too. And I would be breaking my promise to myself and my Jesus. And this was not a crazy, drastic thing here folks, but what most would consider a minor problem. Yet it would still be a huge thing for me. And I don’t want that. This thought problem for me leads me down a path I do not wish to go. We have to be on guard against the enemy CONSTANTLY.  He wants me to fail, to go against my promises and my faith that God has something better for me. He wants me to do what I (in my spirit) do not want to do, but what I want to do (in my humanity and desire for a relationship).

Philippians 4:6 (NASB)

⁶ Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God.

How difficult is it to truly relax and not think about or be anxious about nothing? Pretty impossible, if we try it ourselves. On Sunday morning, I woke up at 6:53 AM and panicked because I thought I would be late to work. Not only would I be late to work, but there was important stuff happening on Monday and I needed to be there at a certain time. Once I realized it was Sunday, I calmed down. I was truly panicked though. I knew being late was not an option, and it wasn’t just me that I had to get somewhere. What a trip! I’ve done this many a time, and have been so relieved when I figured out I had my days wrong.
I think we all do this – not the late part – in some areas of our lives. We get anxious because we aren’t married by a certain age, or don’t have children by a certain age or aren’t where we think we should be professionally and so on. All that thought process means is there is no trust in God, no faith that He will work it all out. His plan is far better than my own for my life.

Philippians 4:7 (NASB)

⁷ And the peace of God, which surpasses all comprehension, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

We have to guard our hearts and minds, and be active in our defense. Watching certain shows, being around certain people, reading certain books. All of those things can bring us down to where the enemy can get a stronger hold on us. We have to fight to guard our precious hearts and minds, so that when our time comes to give them over to the one God has for us, we can do so without guilt, and knowing we did everything to protect that gift. If there is a weakness in your life, then you must do what is necessary to rid yourself of it. Find someone to pray with you. Surround yourself with loving, Godly people. Pray. Read the Word. Pray some more. Don’t let the enemy win you away from where God wants you. Stand your ground and fight. You are not alone in this.