Where Is Your Focus - John Houston
For where your treasure is, there your heart [your wishes, your desires; that on which your life centers] will be also.
Matthew 6:21 AMP
At an all-staff meeting last week, one of our leaders asked me how I have peace in an unstable market like this. Our mortgage company is traditionally one of our strongest. Unfortunately, lately, rates have been all over the place. Even though I’m the founder and leader, and people know how much I strive to trust God, I probably have some of the same challenges you do in the morning. But I’ve learned how important it is to have your mind in alignment. Sometimes when I wake up in the morning, my mind is in ten different directions. Eight might focus on various challenges, while two might focus on future wins. The future gives me hope but doesn’t completely cancel out today’s challenges. However, even in all that, I am reminded that God loves me, which changes how I study His Word, hear His voice, and follow Him.
It can be easy to let fear and anxiety set in or even overwhelm us, especially in times of uncertainty. As leaders, we can make our plans. Like us, you may have 3-year, 5-year, or 10-year plans. Well, currently, our 3-year plans aren’t working out, so we have had to go back and say, “Okay, God, now what?”
God says, “Trust Me. Make the best plans you can and follow Me.”
He always provides. It may not be how we want Him to, but He always gives us what we need. If we feel He isn’t giving us what we need, maybe we need to ask ourselves where our treasure is. If our treasures (wishes, desires, and the center of our lives) aren’t in the right place, this can lead to spiritual blindness, which allows fear, doubt, and distrust to creep in.
For God did not give us a spirit of timidity or cowardice or fear, but [He has given us a spirit] of power and of love and of sound judgment and personal discipline [abilities that result in a calm, well-balanced mind and self-control].
2 Timothy 1:7 AMP
To get a well-balanced mind (or sound mind as I memorized it), we must walk in the power and love of Jesus. When Jesus is our treasure, we can hear His voice and see what He is trying to teach us. That means we shouldn’t get fixated on things we can’t control. What we can control is if we run to the Lord, seek Him, and follow Him. If we choose not to, we have no hope and will grow weary in well-doing and unable to persevere and see the lesson He would have us learn. We have brand new mercies every morning, a unique opportunity to turn our worries, fears, and doubts over to God, realign our focus on Him, and trust that He will provide.