30
Focus
Jeff WeinkaufZechariah 7:4-7
4Then the word of the Lord Almighty came to me: 5“Ask all the people of the land and the priests, ‘When you fasted and mourned in the fifth and seventh months for the past seventy years, was it really for me that you fasted? 6And when you were eating and drinking, were you not just feasting for yourselves? 7Are these not the words the Lord proclaimed through the earlier prophets when Jerusalem and its surrounding towns were at rest and prosperous, and the Negev and the western foothills were settled?’”
Why are we doing the things we are doing? That’s the question I was prompted to ask when I read Zechariah 7. God himself has posed the question though His prophet to His people. When you fasted, was it for me? When you did a really great service this weekend, was it for me or for your ego? When you had a party (eating and drinking) where you just indulging your own whims? What’s your story? What’s your motivation?
Motive checks are a good idea. It’s easy to start with good intentions and a good motive and then slide off point by just a degree or two. Over time even a small deviation from true north will become a great separation. We start out only a degree off, but then multiply that degree over time/distance and it’s huge. The kind of huge where we’re all asking ourselves...”How in the world did we get HERE?” I think that’s one tactic the enemy uses very effectively against the saints. Not necessarily a full frontal assault, but just a “nudge” off target. Then if unchecked, we’re somewhere we didn’t intend to be.
The answer (for me) is making sure I know what my calling and assignment are. God has called me (and you as well) to specific work in His kingdom. He’s called us to do something, and then He’s given us a place to do the something. When I understand what I’m to do, and where I’m to do it I can stay focused. If the something I’m supposed to do becomes a task and not a calling that can be a problem. It might be an indication I’m off track. If I find I’m just doing a tasks then I’m in the same boat as the Israelites where when Zechariah called them out. They were doing a great show, but that’s all it was. Tasks with out purpose, massive activity with out a clear link to a soul can be a symptom of being off track. It’s important in the category of my calling, to make sure it remains focused on the one who gave it to me.
God, as you ask me “why” I do or did something may I be open to your question, your correction if needed and the prompt to stay focused on what you’ve called me to do. Amen.
