You Control Your Focus: Fret Not. Trust the LORD

Last Chat we laid the foundation that the LORD is ultimately in control. Though your life may not match your best laid plans and dreams, God is establishing your steps as you delight in His Way. It may be messy, but the LORD is with you in the mess and upholding you with His hand. (Psalm 37:23,24)

Now that we’ve established the foundation, we’re going to tackle David’s insights for living a secure, thriving life in the midst of crazy. Remember, David is no stranger to a crazy, messy life. While on the run from Saul, David writes to implore you to control what you can control—yourself. He begins by addressing your focus.

Psalm 37:1-3a “Fret not yourself because of evildoers; be not envious of wrongdoers! For they will soon fade like the grass and wither like the green herb. Trust in the LORD.”

You, and you alone control your focus. Will you focus on the evildoers and wrongdoers? The difficulties and troubles of life? If you focus on these things, you will fret. You will worry, and you won’t thrive. Instead you must choose to “Trust the LORD.” Turn your focus away from the wrongs of this crazy world and focus on the LORD Who is with you, establishing you, strengthening you, and loving you.

This is NOT about living in denial. Don’t pretend that life is free of disappointments, dangers or difficulties. Just choose not to focus on those things.

The twelve spies that went into Canaan to spy out the promised land came back with a choice: they could focus on the giants and fortified cities, or they could trust the LORD and His promise of victory. If you know the story, ten of the spies focused on the evil report and dropped a fear bomb that enveloped the whole nation of Israel. In opposition to the ten, my two favorite spies, Caleb and Joshua, didn’t deny the danger, but they also didn’t focus on it. They focused on their Mighty God Who promised them victory. They trusted the LORD. They pled with the people to trust God in the face of real danger and difficulty. The people refused. They couldn’t get over the danger and difficulty, and they were banished to wander in the wilderness for 40 years.

Don’t wander through life fretting about the things you can’t control. Don’t live in denial, convincing yourself that the mess doesn’t exist. It’s time to choose to control your focus. Take your eyes off the difficulties (and difficult people) and focus on trusting the LORD. Let Him establish you, strengthen you, and uphold you wherever you are—whatever you face! He is trustworthy! He has everything under control. He’s always working good. And He can handle anything!

This week examine your focus:

• Ask yourself, “What am I focusing on today—right now?”
• Daily choose to Trust the LORD!

No one else controls your focus. Only you can control whether you fret or focus on trusting the LORD!