40 Days of Focus

I can remember when I graduated from high school and my father sat me down to talk with me about my future and the decisions I would be faced with. I am appreciative of the fact that I had a dad who wasn't interested in telling me what he wanted me to do. Instead he desired to empower me with the ability to make my own choices. He shared with me these important words. "At this time in your life, for every door of opporunity that you open and walk into, you are going to close a thousand others." My dad's intention of saying this wasn't to limit my potential, but to clearly illustrate the power of our choices, and saying yes to one things, means I have to say no to a thousand other things.

My fireside chat with my dad, one of among many, helped me to understand that I must take seriously the choices that I make. Understand the consequences of that choice, both the good and the bad, then make a decision. When you make a choice to go forward with something. Don't hesitate or look back. Move forward toward the goal you have set to achieve.

Making good choices and setting goals is no easy job. The only way you become good at it is through practice. It is also helpful to have people around you in life that can coach you in the process. Another of my father's axiom's is "My role as a father is not to prevent you from making mistakes. Only to keep you from making the same mistakes that I made."

Our relationship plays a paramount role in this area of our lives, because each of us as believers must come to a plac ein our relationship with God where we are willing to surrender ourselves to Him. To say as Jesus did, "Not my will, but yours be done." When we come to that revelation, and place of obedience, God is able to reveal to us, his purpose and direction for our life. The choices we make are acts of obedience to His will in our lives.

There is no shortage of achievement in the world that we live in. In today's culture, people race against one another chasing after illusions of success and significance. For many, they spend their entire lives climbing up the ladder, only to discover that when they get high enough up the ladder to look around, they discover they are leaning against the wrong wall.

In order to focus effectively, the first question we must ask is, "Are we focusing on the thing(s) God desires me to focus on?" When Elijah, approached Elisha, instructing him to follow him, Elisha quickly liquidated the assets of his business, said goodbye to his family, and focused himself obediently to God's direction for his life. The Bible is full of examples of obedience, where both men and women lay down their own personal ambitions, to fulfill God's purpose for their life.

What we focus on, is as important as how we focus to achieve it.

Discussion points?

Have you ever focused on things that were not Gods plan for your life?

Can you describe the tension that is felt when God brings you to a place where He asks you to lay down something of yourself in order to take hold of his purpose for you?

What areas of your life has God asked you to focus on?

What plans are you making to accomplish those areas of focus?