KEEP FOCUSED
Elder Wayne Crocker
When I was in the army, we had a Puerto Rican drill sergeant who constantly yelled out, "Look'a straight ahead and you'a have'a no sweat!" I don't think he had scripture on his mind. But what he was saying was in close harmony with what the scripture teaches about our walk with God.
Proverbs 4:25-27 states: "Let thine eyes look right on, and let thine eyelids look straight before thee. Ponder the paths of thy feet, and let all thy ways be established. Turn not to the right hand nor to the left: remove thy foot from evil."
Jesus said, "The light of the body is the eye: therefore when thine eye is single, thy whole body is full of light; but when thine eye is evil, the body also is full of darkness" (Luke 11: 34). This means that our spiritual eye should be focused clearly upon that which is directly ahead. If we are looking to the right and left as we walk, we most surely will stumble and fall.
The Christian should focus upon the Lord Jesus Christ. There is a song that says it quite well which is entitled "Turn Your Eyes Upon Jesus." The Chorus is:
Turn your eyes upon Jesus,
Look full in His wonderful face;
And the things of earth will grow strangely dim;
As you behold His glory and grace.
Hebrews 12:1-2 encourages us to "lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth so easily beset us, and let us run with patience the race that is set before us, Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith...." In a race, it is essential that we keep our eyes focused up-on the path ahead. Jesus is leading. So, if we just keep focused on Him we will not fail.
Our spiritual race began when we were born of the Spirit. It ends when death claims our body, and our soul is carried to Paradise. There's no discharge from this race until death. Many times we become distracted, taking our eyes off the narrow way and stumble and fall in the broad way (Mat. 7: 13, 14). This brings much grief and trouble to our lives and to those around us.
We must not look back and try to relive those instances where we strayed from the path. But, we do need to remember the consequences of looking to the right or left instead of keeping our eyes upon Jesus, and following Him in obedience. It will help us be more diligent in pondering or carefully considering the path of our feet (Proverbs 4:26).
Paul kept focused as he continued on to Jerusalem, having been warned that bonds awaited him there (Acts 20:22,23). "But none of these thing move me, neither count I my life dear unto myself, so that I might finish my course with joy, and the ministry, which I have received of the Lord Jesus, to testify the gospel of the grace of God" (Acts 20:24).
None of us are apostles as was Paul. Most are not preachers. But each of our lives should be such that it would "testify the gospel of the grace of God." It is imperative that we constantly ponder the path of our feet in every aspect of life.
We should seek close fellowship with our Lord. Without fellowship with Him, we have no hope of getting on and staying on the right path. If we love Jesus as we should our soul will cry out for fellowship. "Tell me, O thou whom my soul loveth, where thou feedest, where thou makest thy flock to rest at noon..." (S. of S. 1:7). "As the hart panteth after the water brooks, so panteth my soul after thee, O God" (Psm. 42:1). "I found him whom my soul loveth: I held him, and would not let him go..." (S. of S. 3:4).
How do we find close fellowship with God? First we humble ourselves, pray, seek His face, and repent of our sins (II Chronicles 7:14). This is not just a one time occurrence. But every time the flesh gets the upper hand in our lives, we must seek the Lord anew.
We are most certainly seeking His face when we pray. But, we need to go further. Read and study His word, the Bible (II Tim. 2:15). Our delight should be "in the law of the Lord" and we should meditate in it day and night (Psalm 1:2). Avail ourselves of the good writings of faithful brethren both old and new.
By all means, read the Bible first. But, we also need the counsel of sound, faithful men of God. To think that we cannot gain anything by listening to or reading the writings of our brethren, shows a degree of arrogance. In some areas, we, like the Ethiopian eunuch, need some man to guide us to understand what we read from God's word. As often as practical, go hear sound preaching and/or listen to tapes of good preaching. Even, or perhaps especially, ministers should do this.
To be continued . . .
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