Change the subject…
Psalm 25, 1 timothy 1:12-17, James 4:1-10, Ecclesiastes 12:9-14
What do you do when problems come and life doesn’t go as planned? When the stress builds up; or the depression sinks in - what do you think about?
Some people will come up with all kinds of various “prescriptions” to focus on, such as, kittens, movies, books, the wilderness, the promise of a vacation or trip, just being somewhere else, a childhood memory or a loved one; the list is never ending. We Americans think a lot and it gets us in trouble. All of this is good and kind of works to pull us out of the mire but it never truly lasts. So, then we go on this mental journey, trying to find what will get us through it all. What will motivate us and keep us happy and performing to our best potential. May I suggest a solution?
My solution is that we take our focus off of these “prescriptions” and instead put our focus on a Person. A person who is perfect, Christ Jesus himself. Who knows us better than we know ourselves and wants us to be able to enjoy the life we have on this earth in full, pure, unhindered joy. Ironically, when you break it down to the simplest form, if we aren’t focusing on Christ and all of his attributes and work in our lives, then we are focusing on ourselves and by default become 100% selfish in every way erasing the only thing that truly satisfies our hearts and desires fully.
The scriptures I have listed point to a very basic truth that can be so easy to understand but so hard to believe when we are caught in the struggles of life. This truth is the difference between always being bombarded by our struggles - or past failures - that can stop us dead in our tracks spiritually if we aren’t careful. What is it you ask? Well you don’t dwell on the problem you focus on the solution, Christ. Wow Josh real original… wait let me explain. Yes, we think about the problem, how much we are stressed, or how we can never seem to get happy, and I can’t help but see that problems don’t need more focus, they need less of our time. This is all because we are focusing on the wrong thing. Please don’t think I’m saying we need to just relax and zone out, i’m saying we need to zone in on the One who is bigger than our problems! Last time I checked, focusing more on our problems has never made them go away. We want to fix the problem without changing our mindset to dwell on the things that aren’t causing us grief but find ourselves digging our own graves all over again. Doesn’t it just make sense to dwell on the very things that influence us away from our issues instead of trying to just not think about them? Let me ask you which is easier, to stop trying to think about what you are thinking about right now, or changing the subject? Changing the subject, right? Well in the same way we must approach our sin and how we depend on Christ. In order to stop our thoughts, actions and our wandering minds, we must first realize that we are off track and then redirect our thoughts towards Christ and all he has given us. This sounds like such a fine line but trust me its not. This is a very crucial tool for defeating sin and becoming more like Christ, because then it is no longer us aimlessly trying to take the entirety of our struggles on ourselves with our own power, we instead understand that Christ is so much more sufficient to carry our struggles, and so much better than any enticing temptation, distraction, or self-serving thing we can conjure up in our little sinful minds. Christ is better and he has so much more in store for us then we know, but he can’t show us all that he has for us when we refuse to look. We must first realize that dwelling on the problem is only going to make it worse, it’s not going to fix it, but instead focusing on the things that truly matter, all of a sudden, the problems become a whole lot smaller comparatively. And that is really what the underlying messages are in all these verses. Such as the approach David takes when he starts Psalm 25:1
“To you oh Lord, I lift up my soul.
O my God, in you I trust:
let me not be put to shame:
let not my enemies exalt over me.”
He starts off by refocusing his mind, thoughts, and trust in the true power and love of God. Then he relays his requests before God in light of that truth. No wonder God delighted in David saying that he was a man after God’s own heart. The man was thirsty, hungry to understand the will of his heavenly Father, and I think it would be wise to follow suit and realign our hearts, emotions, and thoughts to Christ and the truth he proclaims. Then and only then shall we see the true redeeming power that Christ has brought and that we can now proclaim in our own lives to others. I pray that God will be able to capture our thoughts, and our emotions to himself, that we would see truth in the midst of pain and grow ever closer to the one that truly saves. Ask God to become your all and see what God can truly do with a child of God after his own heart.
