The Privilege of Focal Point Selection

On my daughter’s birthday this week, we went to eat at a restaurant with a spectacular view. Well, let me qualify that. The view is spectacular if you are looking in the right direction. On one side is our overwhelmingly lovely river tucked into lush, verdant jungle. On the other side of the restaurant is a tall, rundown, condemned building. I am told that it cannot be removed because knocking it down would endanger other structures around it. So it just sits there looking large and decrepit. Here is a video I took of the contrast:

From where I was sitting that day, I got to pick. I could choose to gaze on the stunning beauty of God’s handwork, or I could let my eyes wander to the ugliness. As I observed this, Holy Spirit pointed out to me what a spiritual picture that was. Just like I got to choose where I kept my physical focus during that meal, every minute of my life, I get to choose where I direct my spiritual focus as well.

“Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things” (Col. 3:2, NIV). With this instruction, He is teaching us how to select our point of concentration. He is letting us know that we get to pick what we think about. We get to select the object of our meditation.

Some may say, “I don’t know how to meditate.” Well, have you ever stayed up into the wee hours of the night, losing sleep to overthinking and worry? Then you do know how to meditate. The trouble becomes when we meditate on the problem instead of on the One who has infinite resources to solve it.

There is a rich abundance of Scriptures on the topic of meditation, such as these:

“I will meditate on your precepts and fix my eyes on your ways. I will delight in your statutes; I will not forget your word” (Ps. 119:15-16, ESV).

“Yet this I call to mind and therefore I have hope” (Lam. 3:21, NIV).

“In conclusion, my friends, fill your minds with those things that are good and that deserve praise: things that are true, noble, right, pure, lovely, and honorable” (Phil. 4:8, GNT).

We get to pick what we fill our minds with. What an extraordinary privilege! We are granted the honor of setting our minds on the things above. As a result, we get to live lives marked by abiding peace and supernatural joy. “…To set the mind on the Spirit is life and peace” (Rom. 8:6, ESV).

I love how Holy Spirit so creatively brings His points home. The very next day after our restaurant birthday outing, my youngest put on a t-shirt that had been newly gifted to her. Of all the printed messages it might have had, of course this was it:

 

Let’s allow Him to settle that deep into our hearts today. Yes, on the horizon of life, there are both ugly and beautiful focal points to choose between. Today, let’s set our hearts and minds on the beauty of Jesus. Let’s focus on God’s handywork: what He is up to in this world. Let’s set on our minds on His Spirit. Let’s walk through this day filled with the life and peace that flows from fixing our eyes on Him.

Shalom to you today and always, my friend!

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If Jesus is so beautiful, why do we humans sometimes find it easier to fix our gaze on the negative things happening around us, than on Him?