What are you concentrating on right now?
Where has your mind been all morning?
What has your thought life been orbiting around today? What has your automatic self-talk focused your attention upon?
What are you concentrating on? A problem? A regret? Yourself? How much work you have to do? Your old dusty doubts? Future fears?
Take note. How is today’s concentration affecting you and those around you?
In a sense, concentration is everything. What you choose to concentrate on today will significantly shape your day—your emotions, your relationships, how you do your work. As I read my Bible this theme seems to jump off every page. In his Word, God is constantly telling us how to think, how not to think, where to put our focus. A wise pastor named Paul once said, “Think about these things…”
Recently I read this quote from Oswald Chambers: “We lose power if we do not concentrate on the right thing.”
I think Chambers is right. We lose power (and joy, and a hundred other glories) when we do not concentrate on the right thing. Haven’t you experienced this? You let yourself get caught in the tractor beam of yesterday’s regrets, today’s burdens, and tomorrow’s fears, and quickly, faith and joy become strangers.
Concentration is a choice. If we want power, we must choose to concentrate on the right thing.
What is the “right thing”? What should be the gravitational center of our concentration? Chambers answers the question:
Jesus Christ and Him crucified….We have to concentrate on the great point of spiritual energy – the Cross, to keep in contact with that centre where all the power lies, and the energy will be let loose…The feebleness of the churches is being criticized today, and the criticism is justified. One reason for the feebleness is that there has not been this concentration of spiritual energy; we have not brooded enough on the tragedy of Calvary or on the meaning of Redemption.
Whether you’re a software engineer, a stay-at-home mom, a preacher, or someone who’s been looking for work for six months and counting—you lose power when you do not concentrate on the right thing. What will you choose to concentrate on today?
Change your concentration. Concentrate on Christ.
If you’re in Christ, you have an unshakable identity and an unshakable future. If Jesus went to the cross for you, he can surely handle those problems you seem to always concentrate on. You have a Sovereign Father who is governing your life and is worthy of your total allegiance. You possess this entirely unique message of good news that people around you need to see you believe, concentrate upon, and share.
Concentrate on the right thing. Concentrate on Christ, his cross, and its application to your specific problems. Then, the power will come.
Is there enough evidence for us to believe the Gospels?
In an age of faith deconstruction and skepticism about the Bible’s authority, it’s common to hear claims that the Gospels are unreliable propaganda. And if the Gospels are shown to be historically unreliable, the whole foundation of Christianity begins to crumble.
