Stay Focused

Psalms 5:8 Lead me, O Lord, in Your righteousness because of my enemies; Make Your way straight before my face.

Proverbs 4:25 Let your eyes look straight ahead,

Ecclesiastes 1:15 What is crooked cannot be made straight,

Isaiah 45:2 I will go before you And make the crooked places straight;

Luke 3:4 as it is written in the book of the words of Isaiah the prophet, saying: "The voice of one crying in the wilderness: 'Prepare the way of the Lord; Make His paths straight.

Luke 3:5 Every valley shall be filled And every mountain and hill brought low; The crooked places shall be made straight And the rough ways smooth;

Luke 9:57 Now it happened as they journeyed on the road, that someone said to Him, "Lord, I will follow You wherever You go." 58 And Jesus said to him, "Foxes have holes and birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay His head." 59 Then He said to another, "Follow Me." But he said, "Lord, let me first go and bury my father." 60 Jesus said to him, "Let the dead bury their own dead, but you go and preach the kingdom of God." 61 And another also said, "Lord, I will follow You, but let me first go and bid them farewell who are at my house." 62 But Jesus said to him, "No one, having put his hand to the plow, and looking back, is fit for the kingdom of God."

Okay, which way would you rather walk home, at night, in a rain storm, with lightning, on Halloween, with wild dogs running around? Okay scratch that last one - it can't ever be that bad could it? Point is, when the conditions are bad enough, and we're in a hurry, we'd prefer going the easy way, the clear way, the straight way, the way that has been cleared of all obstacles and nothing is in our way to hinder us or slow us down. Right? If we just had to make it home quickly, we would prefer not to be tripped up by anything.

Think of it this way. Have you ever lived in a part of town where you had to drive daily through a torn up street under construction? A few years ago, the city was widening the main street into our subdivision. This lasted for a few years too. First, one side was torn up, then the other. Part of the road was gravel, or dirt, the other part was partially paved. This was very inconvenient, dirty, bumpy and even confusing at times. Our travel was even hampered or restricted and we were caused to slow down through this part. Our way was "crooked" if you will. Then, one day, the day we had waited for for a few years, the road was finally finished. Ahhhhhh....... a nice smooth road to drive upon. I mean smooth, quiet, straight, fast and finished. It was perfect. No longer were we slowed down. We could come and go with ease, and make real good time.

The same thing is true in our spiritual lives. Without Christ, our way is hopelessly crooked. We can't even see the light at the end of the tunnel because of the turns in our way. We can't even focus on a goal, and reach our destination on our own. We have got to have additional help. We must have a Saviour. Someone to go before us, and give us focus. Someone who we can rely on to clear our way and make our way straight.

The last time I studied this passage was a year ago in bible class with a few friends. The point was made that if we have a goal, and we can focus on our goal - that mark way out in the distance, then as we're plowing, or driving, or walking, we can focus on that goal, and go straight toward it. Take a look again at the picture above. Nice and straight huh? How would you like to walk through that nice straight field on your way home from school like I did a few times when I was a kid. Man, that would be a piece of cake. So simple. Nothing in the way. If we can focus on the mark, don't turn around. Jesus implied that when you do, (he was talking to people who were very familiar with subsistence farming practices) when you do turn around and look behind you, you screw up. (remember Lot's wife) By the time you turn back around and look forward again, your row is now crooked - not straight. Whenever we turn around and look behind, we are worried and concerned with this life's problems. Jesus wants us to continue looking forward, to Him for our guidance. Keep God first in our lives, and focus on Him.

Am I listening to What God is Saying in His Word?