So much of life depends on what we focus on. If we focus on the negative, the problems that plague our day, that’s what will dominate our emotions and thoughts.
When we focus only on what’s going wrong, it feels like everything is going wrong, doesn’t it?
And when everything is going wrong, what’s the point in trying? It’s pointless to keep moving forward day after day. (At least, that’s what we tell ourselves, isn’t it?)
But the truth is that it’s a choice to let our problems command our focus. Don’t let that condemn you. Rather, let it free you…
Let it free you to focus on something else. Something better and more beautiful.
Let us allow the Holy Spirit to gently take our hands and lead us to that better and more beautiful place. He wants to teach us, if we’re willing, to shift our focus from ourselves to him. From our problems to his presence.
Because he is here, with you, with us, right now.
Will we see him? Will we see the wonders he’s doing around us and in us?
He’s here to teach us. So lean in to hear what Holy Spirit is saying...
The Message
“It is difficult to persevere when your focus is on your problems. It is difficult to have energy, be excited, have momentum, make any forward movement that feels like it matters, when the focus is purely on you. The colors in the room where you are now … do you see them? The sky I painted for you, the air I breathed for you … the cool breeze on your skin, the rhythm of waking and sleeping, eating and resting, playing and working, I have made all these things for you.
“But do you see them? Do you hear me, see me, feel me calling your name - in all things, everywhere, everywhere you go?
“When you realize everything I have made is for you, you can actually forget yourself. When you let my love fill you so there is no room for anything else, you inhabit the world differently. You see and hear and speak differently than you did before, because you are different. When I fill you, you are never again who you were before.
“Close your eyes. Take a deep breath now. And then another. Rest now. Rest. I am here. I have you. I know all that you are facing, all that you are holding. I see deeper, wider, and I know what is ahead. I know how you will need me then. I know how you need me now. Don’t shut down now. Don’t give up. You are not alone. You don’t have to go through this life alone. I am here. I have always been here. I am not leaving you. I am the one you can count on. In all the pain, all the heartache, all the regret.
“You are made of noble blood, the blood of the king inside you. You are inheriting the kingdom that will ever end, never weaken, never falter, never grow colorless or cold or dark. I am in the light. I am in the dark. I hold your broken heart and I breathe life into it. Stand up now, child. There is life in you. Take that step. I am holding you up to take it, and the next one too. Watch what happens when you do.”