What Are You Focusing On?

When we taught our boys how to ride their bikes, initially their feet distracted them.  They were so caught up in watching their feet and getting used to the pedals that their focus was constantly aimed downward, instead of ahead of them at where they were going.  With eyes looking at feet and mind concentrating on the mechanics of pedaling, the arms and body were drawn downward by their focus and inevitably the bike followed suit and boy and bike ended up in a heap on the ground.  We'd rush over and pick them up, brush them off, get them back on the bike and begin the process again, always encouraging them to look up and focus on where they wanted to go; that the bike would follow their focus. 

You know this is also the way of dreams....those little previews into the life that God has for us.  We'll get there if we focus on where it is we want to go.  I heard recently that the likelihood of realizing your dreams goes up by 98% if you write them down and keep them in front of you.  I know from experience that it's not enough to just write them down.  I've written so many things down over the years only to forget about that list just a short while later.  The worst is finding it after 5 years has gone by only to discover in dismay that I haven't realized a single dream.  Ugh!  I didn't realize then that my path would have turned up at the right destination had I only changed my focus. 

We can get so caught up in the mechanics of the dream (how's it going to work, when's it going to happen, what do I need to do, etc) that we lose sight of the dream itself.  Before we know it our gaze has turned inward, focusing on our own inabilities which fuel fear instead of the faith we need to look ahead, and we end up in a heap of introspection...stuck. 

We need to change our focus.

Think about your dreams.  Last week we talked about them being previews of life's coming attractions.  So, let's dust ourselves off and get back on those dreams, this time with our focus on our destination.  For each dream you have, find a picture that represents that dream.  Are you believing for physical healing?  Find a picture of yourself when you were at your healthiest and keep it in front of you daily as you pray and speak over yourself that you are healed.  Do you want to be debt free?  Know your debt, make a list of your debts with the total amount in plain sight.  Pray over and speak to that amount as being paid in full daily.  Do you dream of an organized home?  Pull out pictures from a magazine which represent what you want for your home.  Keep those images in front of you as you press toward that goal.   

Motivation and faith can be either fueled or depleted by what we choose to focus on.

  We can choose life or death for our dreams merely by what we choose to gaze upon day after day.  This time around I'm choosing to change my gaze and put pictures of my dreams in front of me in a place where I can see them daily.  

You know, with the biking, the process took a different length of time for each of our sons.  It was really a process of trust... trusting their parent's advice, but most of all, trusting their own focus and the notion that bike and body would follow it's lead.  Each child needed to go at his own pace and take his tumbles before getting it.  But, all it took with each one was that one time when they looked up and forgot about the mechanics of biking long enough to get a feel of the breeze on their cheeks....and they were hooked.  Even if they fell after a few moments they had enough of a taste to know that they could do it and they wanted more.  Each attempt at changing their focus from feet to straight ahead brought them a few revolutions closer to freedom, until, eventually, they took off.

Is this your first visit to Freedom Friday?
We're embracing freedom each Friday here in 2012.
Click here for a list of the other posts in the series.