November 8, 2022
How Focused Are You?
I mentioned in my last devotional about the small male buck deer being so focused on the female doe deer that he didn’t even realize that I was in the world. This young buck would follow the hot doe everywhere she went. His single focus in life was on her.
I recall another hunting trip in which I was hunting near a pond. I heard a commotion coming toward me and saw a crazy sight. A doe was being chased by a buck and he was right on her tail. She was running wide open with him right behind her. In order to try and get away from this buck the doe jumped right into the pond. The buck never missed a beat and jumped in right behind her.
I watched in amazement as the doe swam a zig zag pattern trying to lose the buck but he swam every stroke that she swam. Finally, she made it to the shore and got out of the pond and took off. The determined buck exited the pond and took off in full stride after the doe. I have seen another buck follow a hot doe right across a busy highway never looking up at oncoming vehicles. His focus was so strong on the doe that he was oblivious to the cars and trucks.
How is our focus on the things of God? It seems that we get easily distracted by the simplest things. Jesus said in Matthew 6:33 for us to, “Seek first God’s kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you.” We get the cart before the horse and seek everything else first and then try to find a place for God in our busy life. Jesus also said in Matthew 15:8, “These people honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me.”
Jeremiah 29:13 says, “You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart” And Colossians 3:1 encourages us to, “Therefore, if you have been raised with Christ, keep focusing on the things that are above”. And there are many more scriptures that remind us of our task to stay focused on Christ.
When a buck deer gets so focused on a doe in heat he forgets about his natural senses of danger and does some dumb things that eventually get Him harmed or killed. (I won’t comment on how some young men get into trouble for the same reason). A buck goes against everything that is in his natural protective nature to focus on and follow that doe.
If we are not careful, we do the same thing. We throw aside all of the warnings that God gives us as we pursue our own interest and/or the interests of the world. Just as this lack of focus on the right things can cause danger or even death to the distracted buck deer, it can also cause us to be in SPIRITUAL danger or even cause SPIRITUAL death to us. So follow this direction from Hebrew 3:1, “Therefore, holy brothers, partners in a heavenly calling, keep your focus on Jesus, the apostle and high priest of our confession.”
There is an old gospel hymn called “Turn Your Eyes Upon Jesus” One of the lines from the song says: “Turn your eyes upon Jesu., Look full in His wonderful face, And the things of earth will grow strangely dim, In the light of His glory and grace.”
In love with Jesus – Gary Mimbs