Matthew 6:33

A couple of years ago I noticed that God was training me and teaching me to maintain my focus on Him. I experienced more peace by switching my focus from the worry, concern, or circumstances of my situation and onto God.

There is a bit of a paradigm shift that has been taking place in my thinking. Instead of seeing God through or in my circumstances, I am seeing my circumstances through or in God.

This lesson is ongoing and being honed more and more, and it is beautiful. The more the focus is on God, the more I feel peace, joy, love, patience…you know, the fruits of the spirit. Its wonderful that this is becoming more of a reality for me, not just something that the Bible says will happen.

In order to help keep the focus on God I made this, and it now hangs in my room across from where I have my quiet times.

I will note, my general lack of artistic inspiration made this very simple project take over 3 months.

Sleep is good, God is better

Do you want to know the thing that I have always been excellent at?

Sleeping.

Ask my mom. She’ll tell you that since the day I was born, I was better at sleeping than any of my other siblings. Over the years I have treasured the fact that I can drink coffee and be asleep 5 minutes later. I can be woken in the middle of the night due to a storm, get up shut all the windows, crawl back into bed and be asleep in a moment. I can even wake up enough to give coherent answers, fall back asleep and have no recollection that my sleep was in any way disturbed. This particular talent of mine has truly benefitted me.

Why am I talking about this?

Well, last night I couldn’t sleep. I know you really care about my sleeping patterns, in fact I bet you were just about to ask me. I thought I would save you the trouble J.

The reason that I couldn’t sleep was that the woes and cares of this world (or more particularly the woes and cares of my grammar class) inserted themselves into my sleep and I woke up stressed and overwhelmed. This has happened on very few occasions in my entire life. My sleep is not easily interrupted.

There was one marked difference between last night and other times that this has happened. Instead of focusing on these pesky woes and cares of the world that were disturbing me, I used my awakened state to focus on Jesus. Other times when this has happened I have focused on the woe that was troubling me, I’ve tried to solve it. I’ve tried to fix it. I’ve tried in my own power to make it go away. Actually, other times, I’ve even just laid there pouting and saying “why me?”

God has been training me to look only at Him despite my environment, and circumstances. This training has been going on especially over the past year and a half, and I am happy to report that I am seeing an improvement. I was engaged in a scuffle last night, and thanks to Jesus’ grace and training, even though my sleep took a hit, I think I won that battle.

So many good verses apply to this experience!

Psalm 55:22

Cast your burden on the Lord, and he will sustain you; he will never permit the righteous to be moved.

James 1:2-4

Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness. And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing.

John 16:33

I have said these things to you, that in me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation. But take heart; I have overcome the world.”