Focus on God
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http://www.forthright.net
Straight to the Cross
GUEST ARTICLE
Focus on God
by Rex Banks
"No one can appreciate so fully as a doctor the
amazingly large percentage of human disease and
suffering which is directly traceable to worry,
fear, conflict, ... to unwholesome thinking and
unclean living" (Dr. William Sadler).
Even without a medical degree, most of us
instinctively recognize that the anxiety which
chases away sleep, the fear which causes our heart
to race, and the slow-burning anger which gnaws at
our gut are the enemies of both our bodies and our
souls. The very language which we use is
instructive. We speak of being "sick" with fear,
"insane" with jealousy, and "eaten up" by anger.
In more prosaic language, medical men have drawn
our attention to the fact that a mind filled with
negative and destructive thoughts threatens the
health of the body: "With every passing year, we
obtain a wider comprehension of the ability of the
mind (psyche) to produce varied disturbances in
the body (soma): hence the term psychosomatic.
Invisible emotional tension in the mind can
produce striking visible changes in the body,
changes that can become serious and fatal" (Dr. S.
I. McMillen: None Of These Diseases).
Now, for those of us who believe that the Bible
meets man's every emotional and spiritual need, it
is not surprising to hear inspired writers
emphasizing that a garbage-free heart/mind is
essential to human well-being. True, emphasis is
quite rightly placed upon the spiritual, but the
God who created us has given laws which enhance
our lives physically and emotionally, as well as
spiritually.
We are to "guard" or "watch over" the heart (mind)
(Proverbs 4:23), because it is the "wellspring of
life." We are also to consciously, deliberately
choose the focus of our minds. The Psalmist
affirms: "I will meditate on Thy precepts" (Psalm
119:15,23,27,48,78,148), using a word which speaks
of "silent reflection." Isn't it obvious that the
man whose mind is saturated with Holy Scripture is
less likely to "look on a woman to lust for her"
(Matthew 5:28) than the man who feeds his
imagination on pornography?
What of the man who silently reflects upon the
cross each day and treasures in his mind the words
of a dying Savior, "Father, forgive them…"? Isn't
he far less likely to hold a grudge or nurse a
grievance than the one who gives no thought to our
dying God?
Again listen to David: "When I remember Thee on my
bed, I meditate on Thee in the night watches"
(Psalm 63:6). Isn't it obvious that the heart
immersed in the promises of God will enjoy a
freedom from doubt and fear which is not known to
the atheist and the agnostic? What better antidote
for anxiety than David's words: "The Lord is my
shepherd, I shall not want" (Psalm 23:1)?
Poor, sad Bertrand Russell lamented: "…no fire, no
heroism, no intensity of thought and feeling can
preserve an individual life beyond the grave."
That's the fruit of unbelief. Stephen died with
heaven before his eyes, "the glory of God and
Jesus standing at the right hand of God" (Acts
7:55). That's the fruit of a God-directed focus.
Friends, let's choose carefully the focus of our
minds. When the garbage threatens to engulf our
hearts and lives, let's fight back as the Psalmist
did — "Thy word I have treasured in my heart, that
I may not sin against Thee" (Psalm 119:11). Job
was "blameless, upright, fearing God" simply
because he could say with conviction, "I have
treasured the words of His mouth more than my
necessary food" (Job 1:1; 23:12b).
Let's choose deliberately and with determination a
God-directed focus to our life — our physical,
emotional, and spiritual health depend upon our
doing so.
Thanks to The Voice of Truth International, Vol
35, pgs 12-13.
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