My best friend has ADHD, something that has become much more mainstream since I was a kid. He had a hard time staying focused sometimes, as ADHD causes a person to do. When we were in community college together, he was engaged, and I asked him how wedding planning was going. He told me it was going well, and that he and his fiancé were planning to have an outdoor wedding. I thought about it for a minute, and started chuckling. He asked me what was funny, and I told him that having an outdoor wedding may not be a great idea, because we’d all be standing there, the pastor doing his part, and he would be looking all around the area, be it trees, squirrels, birds, etc. He started laughing too and agreed with me on that. Their wedding ended up being an indoor wedding, which may have been for the best.
But just as my best friend struggles with staying focused sometimes, and he’s much better than he used to be, we all struggle with staying focused on God. I know I do at times. Our lives are seemingly always full of things that require our attention, be it our jobs, our families, our friends, home projects, and the list goes on and on and on. And in the midst of all of this, God wants our attention as well. So, unfortunately, reading the Bible and having time with God is added to the pile. Now, you’re probably wondering why I put unfortunately there, as time with God is important and good and profitable. I’m not arguing that. It’s unfortunate that it happens so often that spending time with God is viewed as just another thing to do, instead of a time of rest and restoration.
I’ve been reading through Romans, and it’s a breath of fresh air every time I open it up. Reading about God’s love for us in Romans 8. Reading about how amazing Christ’s sacrifice is in Romans 5. Being told that we are no longer slaves to sin in Romans 6. And constantly being reminded of God’s goodness and faithfulness throughout the entire book. I wish I could remember those scriptures better or more often in my life, because life gets crazy, as I’m sure you know.
But when life gets hard or crazy or you start feeling stressed over something, that is the time you need God the most. He is who can help you and give you what you need to keep going. Isaiah 40:31 tells us, “but those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint.” In the times of life that it is easiest to be unfocused on God, we need to run to Him, to give us strength and endurance to keep going.
One of my favorite stories in the Bible, and it isn’t even a story, is found in 2 Timothy 4:7. Paul writes, “I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith.” Paul had lived a crazy life. He spent the first part of his life focused on persecuting the church. He was killing and arresting Christians left and right. He was admired by many, but feared by all who followed Jesus. Then, as I’m sure you know, he had an incredible experience on the road to Damascus, where the risen Savior met him and changed his life forever, as Jesus does to all who come to Him.
From that point on, Paul’s focus was different. He was instead focused on telling the world about who Jesus was. In 2 Corinthians 11, we are told that he had been imprisoned, flogged, forty lashes minus one, beaten with rods, stoned, shipwrecked 3 times, and constantly in danger. Talk about a stressed life! But in all of that, he clung to God, because Paul knew God was worth it and would provide and sustain him through all of it. It’s why he writes in Philippians 4:13, “I can do all this through him who gives me strength.”
And so, at the end of his life, when he is writing 2 Timothy, his last recorded letter before his death, he can confidently say that he has fought the good fight, finished the race, and kept the faith. All because he had laser focus on God, no matter what Satan threw at him. And I am confident that each and every one of us can proclaim those same words one day when our time has come, but only if we keep our focus on God, who will sustain us and provide for us just as He did for Paul and just as He’s done for so many others. So when life gets you down, and you don’t know what to do next, turn to God, for He is waiting to help you.
The Lord himself goes before you and will be with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged.” -Deuteronomy 31:8 (NIV)
