Focus On God

2 CORINTHIANS 4:18 NIV
18 So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is
unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is
eternal.

Many people are convinced they are too bad for God to help, or
they have problems that are too big for God to handle. They
seem to have more faith in their inability than they do in
God's ability. They seem to have more faith in the problem than
they do in God. This happens when we focus on the problem,
instead of looking to God who is the solution. As long as we
focus on the problem and let it consume our attention, we will
have faith in it to defeat us.

1 JOHN 4:4 NIV
4 . . . the one who is in you is greater than the one who is in
the world.

We have a choice in what we focus our attention on.

The Old Testament contains an account illustrating how we must
look to Jesus and His finished work on the cross, instead of
looking at our problems.

NUMBERS 21:4-9 NLT
4 Then the people of Israel set out from Mount Hor, taking the
road to the Red Sea to go around the land of Edom. But the
people grew impatient with the long journey,
5 and they began to speak against God and Moses. "Why have you
brought us out of Egypt to die here in the wilderness?" they
complained. "There is nothing to eat here and nothing to drink.
And we hate this horrible manna!"
6 So the LORD sent poisonous snakes among the people, and many
were bitten and died.
7 Then the people came to Moses and cried out, "We have sinned
by speaking against the LORD and against you. Pray that the
LORD will take away the snakes." So Moses prayed for the
people.
8 Then the LORD told him, "Make a replica of a poisonous snake
and attach it to a pole. All who are bitten will live if they
simply look at it!"
9 So Moses made a snake out of bronze and attached it to a
pole. Then anyone who was bitten by a snake could look at the
bronze snake and be healed!

When deadly snakes are everywhere, biting people on every side,
it would be extremely difficult to look up and focus your
attention on a pole instead of looking down at the ground where
the snakes were. But that is exactly what God instructed the
people of Israel to do, and all who did were healed and lived.

Some might wonder why a snake was put on the pole, which was a
type of Jesus being hung on the cross. It was because Jesus
took our sins on Himself when He hung on the cross. The Bible
says that He who knew no sin was made to be sin for us. And on
the cross, that old serpent the devil, was defeated and
de-fanged!

So, no matter how urgent the problem biting at your heels may
seem, God's answer for you is to look up and focus on God's
provision. Have faith in God!

God is bigger than any problem you face and can deliver you
from any situation, no matter how bad it is.

JOHN 10:29 NIV
29 My Father . . . is greater than all . . .

Instead of thinking of how bad you are, focus on how good God
is. His goodness is more than enough to overcome your badness.
Instead of looking at what you lack, look at all God has. And
remember He is your Father and loves you.

The devil tries to get us to focus on ourselves and our
shortcomings, instead of focusing on Jesus and His ability to
carry us through to victory.

Whenever the focus is pointing to us, instead of to God, you
can be assured the devil has some involvement in those
thoughts.

As long as you are focusing on yourself, you are not focusing
on God. You have to make the choice.

SAY THIS: I will focus my attention on God instead of on myself
and my problems.