Loving, focusing, pursuing, following, obeying, abiding -- in God alone

My thoughts
scattered
today.

This here
and there
and
yet another.

Takes my mind off
front and center ....
Jesus!

Can not focus

Is it Satan
who brings
these things
to mind now?

They are not bad things

Is it Satan
too perhaps
who hides them
from me
when the
desire is
near?

Things that must get done
Must see to its end

God will enable me to
accomplish my desires

but I must
abide with Him
walk with Him
Can not be
walking
on my own
doing my own thing.
Must focus.
Only on God.

I made my list of all that needs to be done soon and very soon and over the next several months. And then I began. So here are my thoughts today, somewhat jumbled, but perhaps you will see what I am trying to say.

Sometimes books are bought to accompany, to bring an added dimension to our understanding of the Bible. The Bible contains every thing we need, but we don't always see it. Two such examples I have been reading are "Loving God with All Your Mind" by Elizabeth George and "Pursue Your God-given Dream" by Daniel Ekhaifo.

God is the central theme -- loving ... focusing ... pursuing ... following .... obeying ... abiding ... finding fulfillment.

George talks about purpose. Ekhaifo talks about dreams or our calling.

Are they not the same or similar?
What is God's purpose for you? What is God's dream for you?

What you think is your calling may not be what God has called you to do.

Perhaps you believed you were called to be a preacher of the gospel and you pursued that calling. But perhaps also you had a desire to help others, but you didn't see that desire as a calling or as a dream until many years later. Perhaps you've always liked to write, but ...

Shouldn't let the buts stop you.

God determines our purpose, not us. It is however, up to us to discover and recognize what is God's purpose for us.

God gives us dreams too. Not all dreams are from God, but that is not to say none of our dreams can come from Him.

I remind myself what Philippians 3:14 says, "I press toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus."

Pressing on. Keeping on. Continuing to keep our focus on God, talking, abiding in Him, listening, being obedient to His teachings, following through.

My purpose -- to serve; to share the Gospel, to provide Biblical insights to others

My dream, my calling, my heart's desire -- to write

Ekhaifo says God's dream stands out from the rest because we know in our spirit that it is what we are meant to do. Until we have that deep longing, perhaps we don't even realize we have a God-given dream.

God knows you. He knows us much better, much more intensely that we know ourselves. He did create us. If God has given you a desire and you sort of sense it, talk to Him about it. If it is indeed from Him, He will confirm it within your heart.

My husband is an ordained Southern Baptist minister and a home health aide to dying men. His calling, his dream, his heart's desire is to be a hospice chaplain and that is what he is pursuing.

I write, edit obituaries for a daily newspaper. I have always enjoyed writing and within the newspaper organization had thought writing news obits to be my heart's desire.

Sometimes, things that we think are our calling, because that is where we are, are not. I mean we may have a vocation due to an interest somewhere in our life, but that vocation is not necessarily God's purpose for us, it is not necessarily our God-given dream.

It is maybe a stopping place for a length of time -- some of us ever so short, others many years. It's when we stay in that stopping place for a long time that maybe we don't see God's plans for us, because our fears are greater than our heart's desire.

God enables us to accomplish His purpose, our God-given dream, His calling for us. Resources will become available. When in God's will, He will ultimately provide everything we need. But we must stay focused on Him.

When we get off course, lose our primary focus, Satan digs in, heaping doubt and discouragement upon us.

God makes us passionate about our dream, Ekhaifo says. That passion will keep us going. It will continue to grow and flourish despite the opposition and resentment we find along the way.

I found a bookmark, "Take Time," written by an unknown author, to share with you.

Take Time

Take time to think;
it is the source of power.
Take time to read;
it is the foundation of wisdom.

Take time to play;
it is the secret of staying young.
Take time to be quiet;
it is the opportunity to seek God.

Take time to be aware;
it is the opportunity to help others.
Take time to love and be loved;
it is God's greatest gift.

Take time to laugh;
it is the music of the soul.
Take time to be friendly;
it is the road to happiness.

Take time to dream;
it is what the future is made of.
Take time to pray;
it is the greatest power on earth.

I also thought of the song "Follow That Dream," sung by Elvis Presley in 1961.

a revelation

My Sunday school class continues its Bible book study on "Loving God With All Your Mind" by Elizabeth George. Last week we discussed "reaching forward ..."

"... forgetting those things which are behind and reaching forward to those things which are ahead, I press toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus." (Philippians 3: 13a-14)

To choose to forget the things of the past - good and bad - that keep us from growing spiritually.

To choose to focus on the present.

A focused woman knows where she is going. She has a sense of God's call on her life.

I believe my calling to be writing. To reach the lost, share the gospel through my writings. To read, to decipher, to study God's word, to respond, to publish it through blogs, books, poetry.

I have thought for many years that writing news obituaries was my life goal. Not that I was doing it of course, but that that was where I wanted to be. Now I'm thinking its not. Writing is, but not necessarily journalistic writing.

It has dawned on me too that it is the connection we want to keep, that we miss when its gone, that we hunger for. People are afraid, fearful of the outcome of an unknown future, whether we are born-again followers of Christ or not, and when we lose any kind of continuity, specifically in the work place, we are more and more distracted and at lose ends. We are concerned about our futures, but we are also concerned about the futures of our peers, because of how we are connected to them.

When we know God's call for our life, all of our focus is on that goal: how to attain it, how to reach it, with God directing our steps. Our life up to that point of revelation is not of as much importance if our mindset is not on God's plan for us. When we are caught up with self - what we perceive as our needs, our wants, me, me, me, then we can't see where we are going, where God is calling us to.

"... let us lay aside every weight (hindrance), and the sin which so easily ensnares us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us." (Hebrews 12: 1a-c)

When a runner is focused, all their energy -- mental, emotional and physical - is committed to the race.

"... endures afflictions, do the work of an evangelist, fulfill your ministry. I have fought the good fight. I have finished the race, I have kept the faith." (2 Timothy 4: 5a, 7)