“Zoom Out – Shift Your Focus”

Christians think too small!  They fret, worry, and stress over the minutiae of life and totally lose sight of the big picture.  They serve the Lord God Almighty, who spoke the entire world into existence in just six days, scooping man out of the dust on the sixth day, and resting on the seventh.  Do you really think there is anything too hard for that God?  If you do, it’s time to shift your focus.

You would have to be living in a cave to not be aware that there are a lot of things happening in the world that are less than ideal.  People were living in fear and isolation due to the pandemic, there was so much social unrest and injustice, and people were concerned about what would happen next.  But, in spite of all that, you have to learn to “zoom out” if you want to maintain your peace.  Martin Luther King, Jr. said, “The arc of the moral universe is long, but it bends toward justice.” Things look different when viewed through the lens of history. Or as people used to say, “Sometimes you can’t see the forest for the trees”. That is why it is important for you to “zoom out” and not get lost in the things happening in your close circles.

That is really good advice.  It is mind-blowing that not too long ago people were desperately scouring shelves for toilet paper and hand sanitizer.  They stocked up on chicken and beef whenever they could find it in the stores.  Stores were closing early and opening late.  Society looked totally different, and people wondered if this “new normal” would be the way they would be living from now on.  But slowly, gradually, almost imperceptibly, things started shifting back, and they hardly even noticed.  They made it through that crisis, and they just slid back to their normal, ungrateful, entitled, take-it-for-granted lives.

If you want to keep the right mindset, you have to “zoom out”.  You have to see life in terms of eternity. God promised you abundant lives here on earth, and you can have those lives if you would learn to shift your focus.  You need to align your definition of abundant life with God’s. (You can believe that He’s offering the better deal!)

Zoom out.  Keep your eyes on God.  Follow where He leads. Zoom out. Give Him thanks for all things in all things. Love your neighbor as yourself.  Zoom out. Take your mind off yourself and think about the things of the Kingdom.  Zoom out.  Stop living in fear, and worrying about life, and start living in faith.  When you look at life through the eyes of faith, your entire outlook changes.  Zoom out and see the big picture through the lens of God’s Word.  He has a plan for your life, but you have to look up in order to live.  Shift your focus. Zoom out.

6: Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God;

7: and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.

Philippians 4 (NKJV)

16: Rejoice always,

17: pray without ceasing,

18: in everything give thanks; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.

I Thessalonians 5 (NKJV)

1: Therefore we also, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight and the sin which so easily ensnares us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us,

2; looking unto Jesus, the author, and finisher of our faith, who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross,

Hebrews 12 (NKJV)

In the power of His glory, be blessed!