Shifting Your Focus
I pray that God, the source of hope, will fill you completely with joy and peace because you trust in him. Then you will overflow with confident hope through the power of the Holy Spirit. - Romans 15:13
A couple years ago I was at a barbecue with some of my friends, and one of the guys sitting next to me looked over and said, “So Kristen, what’s new with you?” In a loving and joking way, one of the other girls in the group said, “Surely she doesn’t have anymore weddings to be in.” We all laughed because that had become a very common joke around me recently. At that point, I had been in my fair share of weddings, with three of my closest friends all getting married within a year of each other.
The girl sitting across from me continued, “Seriously Kristen, I’ve lost count of the number of Facebook posts I’ve seen with girls talking about loving that you were in their wedding. I just keep thinking, ‘Surely she doesn’t have time to be this close of friends with all of these people.’”
I just chuckled and smiled after she said that. But the conversation stuck with me over the next couple of days. I started thinking about what she said and thought about what my perspective was on being in all of these weddings. The more I thought about it, I realized there were two different ways I could think about this situation.
1. I could be frustrated by always being the bridesmaid and not the bride. I could be upset by my relationship status. And I could complain about the cons of being single.
OR...
2. I could be grateful that I have strong, godly friendships. I could be thankful that each of these women valued me and our friendship enough to want me in their wedding. And I could focus on investing in these friendships and others while I’m in this season.
The outcome of each of these thought patterns is so different. If I let myself go down the road of the first one, I start to feel discontent, frustrated, and sad. However, if I go the other route, I feel excited, grateful, and filled with joy. Doesn’t that second set of feelings seem a heck of a lot better than the first?
God shows us consistently through His Word and through His people how important it is for us to focus on what we do have instead of focusing on what we don’t have. Because if we’re being honest, we don’t want our joy to fluctuate based on circumstances we have no control over. Instead we need to remember that our joy should be based on our relationship with the Lord.
I love how Paul talks about this idea in today’s key verse. He's basically saying that you can have joy and peace because you trust in God. Not because you’re at the college of your dreams, or because you have an amazing job, or because you’re in a relationship. When you think about it, that’s a huge relief, because we all know life isn’t always going to be perfect. You're going to realize college isn’t always fun. You're going to have to work jobs that aren’t your favorite. You're going to go through seasons where you’re single. And the only thing that’s consistent through all of those circumstances is your relationship with Jesus.
So, with all of that in mind, I have a challenge for you. Sometime this week, instead of focusing on the things you want but don’t have, allow God to shift your focus by answering these three questions:
What are you taking joy in today?
What is something or who is someone you can pray for?
What do you want to thank God for?
My prayer is that when you do answer these questions God will use them and His Word to “fill you completely with joy and peace because you trust in him."