Whenever things happen in your life and something is out of your control, where does your focus go to?
Are you focusing on your blessings and all of the amazing things that God has done in your life?
Or are you focusing on the negative and the stress of your life?
Above are very important questions that we will answer throughout this episode. In this episode I go over focus and where it lies. I pair this with prayer, scripture, reflection, and 3 daily habits to fix your focus on your blessings to be able to change your perspective.
This is part 1 to a 2 part series on focus and perspective. So I really got this idea a few weeks back on making an episode about focus and I wanted to really add in perspective with that also, because focus and perspective go hand in hand. I wasn't exactly sure how I wanted to do it until the other day I decided to make it a 2 part series. With focus it is: "what you pay attention to," or "the center of interest or activity" and perspective is: "the way that you see something." In order to change your perspective you have to first put your focus on the right things and make it a habit to focus on the right things.
Before we get into this episode completely I want to say a quick prayer... Lord I pray that you lift up every single person reading this right now. I pray that you open up our eyes to see the truth of your words and that you put our focus on the right things. I pray that each and every person really soaks in everything in this episode and that you speak your truth and to their lives Lord. I pray that we put all of our focus on the positive, on the blessings, and on all of the amazing things that you've done for us Lord. I love you with my whole heart. In Jesus' name, Amen.
Alright, let's go straight into some scripture:
"Since, then, you have been raised with Christ, set your hearts on things above, where Christ is seated at the right hand of God. Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things."
-Colossians 3:1-2
As disciples of Jesus Christ we should be setting our minds on heavenly things and the blessings from God and not on earthly things, earthly feelings, or worldly desires.
"The LORD bless you and keep you; the LORD make his face shine upon you and be gracious to you; the LORD turn his face toward you and give you peace." -Numbers 6:24-26
This is what the Lord said to Moses to tell Aaron and his sons to bless the Israelites. These verses are a reminder that the Lord is merciful, gracious, loving, and he blesses us every single day. Sometimes we may not notice the blessings that the Lord puts in our lives, especially if we're not focusing on those blessings. If all we're doing is focusing on the negative things, the fears, the doubts, and all of the bad that's happening in our life then we're going to miss those blessings. We've got to focus on the good and when we focus on the good then we are able to help others to focus on the good also and to be love and light to others. But we can't do that if we're clouded with all of these negative thoughts, feelings, and emotions,
"May he give you the desire of your heart and make all your plans succeed." -Psalm 20:4
"Taste and see that the Lord is good; blessed is the man who takes refuge in him." -Psalm 34:8
When we take refuge in the Lord and we know that he is good then we are blessed. We have to focus on those blessings to truly see how merciful, good, gracious, and loving our God is.
"Blessed is the man who perseveres under trial, because when he has stood the test, he will receive the crown of life that God has promised to those who love him." -James 1:12
This world is full of trials and tribulations and as believers of Jesus Christ we're going to have so many troubles in this world. As Christians we're going to have a lot of trials and tests to test our faith and to give us the opportunity to stay firm in our faith. Whenever we persevere under these trials then we are blessed. We have to stay focused on those blessings and not crumble under our fear, our temptations, and our worldly desires.
Now let's get into some reflection:
Here are a few things that I want you to write down and really reflect on...
Whenever things happen in your life and something is out of your control, where does your focus go to?
Do you focus on those negative thoughts, those negative emotions, and the things you can't control?
Or do you change your focus to something positive and to your blessings?
Once you reflect on those things and write them down, I want you to also write down some things to make a habit to do every single day. The reason why I had you reflect and write down on where your focus lies is to help you to understand what type of perspective you have at this moment. Do you have a negative perspective or a positive perspective? In part 2 we'll go more into the reflection on that.
Here are three things to make a habit of everyday:
1. Write down all of your blessings each day
-Usually in the morning I will write down everything that I'm thankful for, the blessings that God has given me, and the things that God has blessed me with.
-So you want to make a habit every day to write down your blessings.
2. Thank God for everything he has done for you
-So this goes hand in hand with number 1.
-When you write down your blessings you can also write down everything that you're thankful for and make sure to thank God for all of the things he's done and all the blessings that he's put in your life.
3. Remind yourself of the goodness of God each day
-It could be just a little reminder if something goes your way, or maybe something doesn't go your way but you know that that's the way that it should have happened, just remind yourself of God's goodness.
If you make a habit to do these 3 things every single day it will help you with really putting your focus on your blessings, on the positive of life, and all of the amazing things that God has done for you. If you're not practicing writing down your blessings each day, being thankful, and being reminded of God's goodness, it can become very easy to focus on those negative things, fears, doubts, and let your anxiety overcome you. When you make a habit every single day to focus on your blessings and on the positive that will help you to change your perspective (which is what we're going to go into and part 2.)
So that concludes this episode. I hope this helped you guys to really be able to focus on your blessings and to really understand at this moment how your perspective is. Make sure that you are really practicing these 3 things that I had given you, for the next week especially, because in part 2 we're going to do a reflection, we're going to go into perspective, and all of that. If you don't really focus on these 3 things, then you won't see the full change and you're not going to really be able to reflect in our episode in part 2. So stay tuned for part 2 next week when we go into perspective and the reflection from part 1.
I love you guys so much.
Never forget to choose faith over fear.
-Lorena Camille (Faith Fuels My Fire)
p.s. If you'd rather listen to Faith-based, business, mindset, and mental health tips, then check out my podcast. There I will share my personal experiences, stories I've never told before, and bring you along with this hot mess life of mine. New episodes every week.
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Scripture taken from the HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION. Copyright 1973, 1978, 1984 by International Bible Society. Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved.
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