Have you ever tried to work on something and you have to fight off interruptions? First the phone rings. Then the doorbell. The person who is trying to sell you something at the door does not hear you when you say “no thank you” and you find yourself stopping and looking at them wanting desperately to ask “did you not hear the words NO THANK YOU?” So you let them continue to talk…
Have you ever tried to work on something and you have to fight off interruptions? First the phone rings. Then the doorbell. The person who is trying to sell you something at the door does not hear you when you say “no thank you” and you find yourself stopping and looking at them wanting desperately to ask “did you not hear the words NO THANK YOU?” So you let them continue to talk. When they ask you a question and you don’t answer right away they begin to talk again and then your hand goes up “Thank you for your time – I am not interested. I must go now good bye” Before the words can come out of his mouth you swiftly close the door and run back to what you were doing. You get there but the phone rings again and you are faced with a decision? Do I answer or do I complete my task. Oh but you have caller ID and you see that it is your child’s school calling – it could be your child, or it could be the school “Hmmmmm”, you think “should I answer”. You are glad you did because your child is ill and you have to go and pick them up. Does any of this sound familiar? Maybe the interruption is different but the situation is the same and it is in a word FRUSTRATING!. The writer of Hebrews understood life and it’s distractions and exhorted us to run this race of life…
Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. Hebrews 12:2
This has been one of my life verses (it’s hard to settle for one) and I must tell you that staying focussed and keeping my eyes on Jesus can be a challenge at times. I cannot give one reason, only that it is a daily battle. Just putting this article together has required some focus. Yet I believe Jesus understands. When He was here on earth he had to fight off those who wanted him to do things that were not in the orders He received from His Father. Sometimes he had to slip through the crowd and run away. Other times he jumped in a boat and took off to another side of town. Jesus is very familiar with the distractions you and I have to deal with. The apostle Paul charges us to run this race of life with “patience” which means to run with hopeful endurance. In order to do this you have to keep your eyes on the goal and ask yourself – How important is the goal? Is it worthwhile?
Well let’s look at the whole thing in the context of the verses before and after:
Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us. 2Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. 3Consider him who endured such opposition from sinful men, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart. (NIV)
Staying focussed requires us to put aside anything that will distract us from running to win. That leads us to even more discussion – we’ll look at that another time. In the meantime – set your goal; commit to reaching it and go until you accomplish it!
Blessings!
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