God highlights focus as one of the most important elements in life. He’s given us this ability to single out one object and receive deeper information about it. This skill is not only about investing what we have but also about creating an invisible bond with what we focus on and helping us to experience it stronger.
Directed state of the mind
Focus is directed attention. Focusing the mind removes anything that doesn’t have a connection to the center of the attention. Any distraction tries to shift the attention away from the center.
The way we receive information comes through the lens of focus. The more focus is applied, the more information can be obtained. It is safe to say that focusing on a certain matter is our mental consumption. We are taking in the object we are focusing on and we become familiar with it.
It is impossible to develop a skill without focus because attention increases our sensitivity to the matter we concentrate on.
The good news is that the focus after some time reaches a state of becoming effortless. Our ability to keep the mind on a topic becomes easier with time, but if completely ignored for a longer period, it loses its sharpness.
What are we created to focus on?
The answer can be found by looking at the greatest commandment:
You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. (Matthew 22:37, ESV, emphasis mine)
Jesus declares that we are to love God with the entirety of our minds or, in other words, with our complete attention.
That might seem like a big uncomfortable task until we look at young people who have fallen in love with each other. They can’t spend a minute of the day without thinking about each other. No matter if they are together or not. If they are away physically, all they think, dream, and talk about is their “second half.” When they are together they are able to give complete attention to each other effortlessly.
I believe the love that a couple has for each other is a perfect example of what our attention to God was created to look like. When you think about it, God is perfect love and goodness, therefore it’s impossible not to worship or think about something else in the heat of His presence!
The call to focus on God
As I’ve mentioned above, we are taking into ourselves the object we are focusing on. It’s important to realize that everything we focus on has an impact on our lives. That happens always!
Therefore, it is the position of safety and fulfillment for us to focus on God. That’s why God encourages meditation of His Word. (I wrote a related story on the success that goes deeper into this topic.)
You keep him in perfect peace whose mind is stayed on you, because he trusts in you. (Isaiah 26:3, ESV, emphasis mine)
Knowledge starts to flow through the focus. We can know God personally and that allows us to be able to trust Him. It’s hard to trust someone with whom you're not familiar with because you don’t know what to expect from them.
Focus creates a unique bond between the person and what he’s focusing on. That’s where intimacy can take place and benefit both sides.
The words perfect peace in Hebrew is shalowm shalowm. The word shalowm embodies peace, welfare, safety, soundness, health, contentment, friendship with God and people, and completeness. The repetition of a word in the tradition of the Hebrew language shows emphasis.
That’s what we are created for — soundness and peace of mind. It all can be taken practically into our lives by focusing on God.
However, let’s not look at it as a method to reach fulfillment but as an invitation to friendship. The friendship that’s intended to end in love for God because you cannot command love. It comes through the knowledge and intimacy which requires pure attention to the One who already loves us.
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