Stay Focused.. PROF.DR. IKEZAHU OSAGIE SUCCESS

 

*Article*

*Topic: *Stay Focused*.(PSL.34:5)

By.
*Amb. Prof. Chap. Ikezahu Osagie Success- FCH, FICWLS.*

“But when you ask, be sure that your faith is in God alone. Do not waver, for a person with divided loyalty is as unsettled as a wave of the sea that is blown and tossed by the wind.” James 1:6

Let us keep our eyes on God’s promises, not on the storms.
As we walk with God, it is certain that we will experience both rays of sunshine, and cloudy days. During the cloudy days, our eyes must constantly stay on Jesus, and on the promises in the Word. We are not promised that we will only have good times. John 16:33 tells us that as long as we are in this world, there will be tribulations; but there’s hope- in Jesus we have peace and victory! God does not promise rosy times 24/7, but He does promise that He will never leave us (Hebrews 13:5). There are times when we have prayed and prayed, and things seem to go from bad to worse. But we must keep our focus on God and on what He has promised - we cannot let what we see in the natural discourage us. When we lose focus on God, discouragement comes in; and the most natural thing to do is put focus back on ourselves or on something other than God.

Any time we step out in faith, our focus should be on God and His promises. Peter knew that he was about to take on a humanly impossible task by walking on water- but he obeyed Jesus’ Words to ‘come’, and he stepped out on the water in faith (Matthew 14:22-33). Peter then did the natural thing- he looked around him and probably thought- ‘what am I doing walking on water?’ The storms took his focus away from Jesus and he began to sink. Many of us have walked in Peter’s shoes. When we allow the circumstances of life to affect us, we take our focus away from Jesus.

Every time we choose to uphold God’s promises in our lips and hearts despite contrary circumstances, we are exercising our faith; we are calling the enemy’s bluff; we are giving God room to do what only HE can do! Discouragement is bound to lurk around, but we can resist it by focusing on God’s Word and allowing it to take root deep down in our hearts so that nothing else takes our attention.

2. Be Rest Assured

“I cause everything to work together for the good of those who love me and are called according to my purpose for them.” Romans 8:28

Be rest assured that the best is yet to come!
Taking rest and leaving our worries at the feet of Jesus allows us to go about our daily routine without entertaining anxiety. Afterall, God does not give us promises that He does not intend on keeping. Do we really believe that He is faithful to keep His Word? If we do, we will not let anxiety fill our hearts; we will take our rest in God. However, we must labour to come into our rest (Hebrews 4:11). This means there are things required of us to ‘work’ at before we can enter into this place of assurance. Consistent worship, praise, prayer… these are some of the things we can do to stir up our faith and remind ourselves of the promises that we should rest on.

The rewards of our labour are endless! Our heavenly Father acts on our behalf when we trust Him, because He is a faithful God! So whenever anxiety hits, it’s time to hit the prayer or praise position!

‘Let your rest in God’s promises be so real to you that you can hang your coat on it!’ This is what my mother would tell me whenever I had taken my eyes off God's promises. Are God’s promises as real to us as the air we breath? When we make God’s Word our daily bread, it becomes our reality.

We may not be in this place yet but we can ask God to help us become secure in His Word. The benefits of this rest are invaluable;

You have confidence that God has gone ahead of the situation

You focus on what God is doing in this season and enjoy it to the fullest!