A few years I was playing chess and I thought I was doing really well, I was 99% sure I was going to win, I had captured so many of his pieces and I had a plan to get the king. I was just waiting for the right moment to get it. As I was about to capture his bishop he swooped in out of nowhere and captured my king and won the game. It didn't matter how many pieces of his I'd captured, or what my plans to get his king were, I had lost focus and therefore I lost the game. I'm super competitive so I wasn't happy.
It reminded me of how in our walk with God we can be so focused on getting everything in line and getting all our pieces together, that we forget to go after the King, and before we know it the enemy has swooped in out of nowhere and captured us. We sometimes forget the purpose of why we are here. No matter how many pieces we have, and how well we are doing in life, it's like chess, if the enemy captures you before you get to the king, nothing else matters. We need to focus on putting our King first and not just have a plan to get there someday, but get there and stay there today.
This is because you go where you look.
I've got a lot of scars from so many different things, but many are from cycling . My Dad has told me since I was little that "you go where you look" it relates to when you are in a car or on a bike about to have an accident. He was a cop on the serious crash team for a little while, he said that before people crash they are generally looking at the things they don’t want to hit. There will be an open road with only one tree, yet 9 times out of 10 they manage to hit that one tree. People look at the gutter and say, “I don't want to end up there” Or the power pole and say “I don't want to hit that” Yet 99% of the time they end up there because they focused on it and you go where you look.
It's the same in pro sports, you look at professional surfers and snowboarders, they are halfway through one manoeuvre but they are already looking ahead at their next trick.
After many cycling crashes, and painful injuries I finally took into consideration what Dad was saying haven't crashed since. If you’re in a bad situation look ahead to the clear, to where you want to go and chances are you’ll go there instead.
Psalm 121:1-2 says “I lift my eyes to the hills – where does my help come from? My help comes from the Lord, Maker of heaven and earth.”
We so often focus on the problems instead of the resolutions, God wants to help us but we need to lift our eyes to him. In many relationships people constantly focus their attention on the boundaries and what they aren’t allowed to do until marriage, instead of what they can do, they aren't living in the present. They put themselves in a much more vulnerable place and so often fall. Rather than focusing on God, looking to him and striving for purity. Because you go where you look.
This reminded me of the parable of the weeds in Matthew 13:24-30.
When the workers came to the farmer and asked whether to pull out the weeds, the farmer said 'No you'll uproot the wheat if you do. Let them both grow together until the harvest'. When we focus on uprooting the weeds that the enemy has planted we sometimes unintentionally rip out the good stuff with it. Focus on growing the good crops.
It's similar with golf courses, to get that pristine grass, instead of pulling out the weeds; they focus on fertilising the grass so that there is no room for the weeds to grow.
When we focus on not doing the wrong thing, even when it’s with good intentions, we often end up hitting the pole, falling in the gutter and getting those physical and metaphorical scars that may never fully heal.
Matthew 14:22-33 says that Jesus had gone up into the hills by himself to pray. Meanwhile the disciples were in trouble far away from land, for a strong wind had risen and they were fighting heavy waves. About 3 o'clock in the morning Jesus came toward them, walking on water. When the disciples saw him walking on the water they were terrified. In their fear they cried out "it's a ghost!" But Jesus spoke to them at once "don't be afraid" he said "take courage. I am here!" Then Peter called to him "Lord if it's really you tell me to come to you, walking on the water." "Yes come" Jesus said.
So Peter went over the side of the boat and walked on the water toward Jesus. But when he saw the strong wind and the waves, he was terrified and began to sink. Peter looked to Jesus and walked straight out of the boat on water. The very moment he lost sight of Jesus and focused on the waves and wind he began to sink. "Save me Lord!" Peter shouted. Jesus immediately reached out and grabbed him. The moment he shifted his gaze back to the Lord, Jesus reached out and saved him. If we focus on the waves of the difficult circumstances we are in without putting our faith in Jesus we will sink. We need to focus on Jesus' power and not our weakness.
If you look to Jesus, He will help you avoid those terrible accidents and painful scars, he will keep you from sinking.
In Matthew 6:33 we are told to “Seek first his kingdom and his righteousness and all these things will be given to you aswell." Seek his kingdom first.
“Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable--if anything is excellent or praiseworthy--think about such things.” Philippians 4:8
You go where you look
