Where's Your Focus?
If you're anything like me, you enjoy staying connected. There's a sense of safety and comfort in the familiarity of routine. It feels good when we feel like we have control of what's happening around us. I've found it incredibly easy to be focused on the news lately. Whether we watch it on T.V., hear it on the radio, or scroll through it on social media, there is opportunity to be constantly engaged. All the new information coming daily can feel like an avalanche!
This past weekend, if I'm totally honest, I was glued to my phone. I would read article after article, both horrified and intrigued. Knowing that social distancing was coming into full effect, my roommate and I went to Walmart to get a couple puzzles and board games. When we got back home, we decided to pull out our first puzzle - 550 pieces, to be exact.
The longer I stayed away from filling my heart and mind with the fear and negativity of the news, the more I was filled with peace. I was thanking the Lord for that peace, when I felt Him stir a simple question in my heart.
"Where's your focus?"
Where was my focus? It was on the empty grocery store shelves, the uncertainty, the fear-based news I was hearing around me.
I was reminded of a quote from Margaret Feinburg, author of a book called Taste and See. "You can cling to Christ, or cling to crisis, but you don't have arms big enough for both."
The Lord lovingly invited me to shift my perspective. Regardless of my feelings, regardless of my own fears or uncertainty, He is still on the throne. He is still faithful. He is still good, and He is still in control. Even when we don't have all the puzzle pieces in our own hands, we can trust that He sees the whole picture.
In this time and season, the Lord has an invitation for us: to shift our perspectives from the uncertainty of tomorrow to His sovereignty, and to shift our thought-lives from fear to His perfect love.
Be encouraged by the words of Colossians 1:17 (NLT) today. "He existed before anything else, and he holds all creation together."
In the midst of such uncertainty, we can cling to Him, knowing that He holds all creation together. We don't know how this particular puzzle fits together, friends. May we rest assured that we know the One who holds all the pieces and sees the whole picture!
Between the Shadow and the Soul: Blogging through the journey.