Focus

Deuteronomy 8:12-14
When you eat and are full, and build beautiful houses to live in, and your herds and flocks grow large, and your silver and gold multiply, and everything else you have increases, be careful that your heart doesn’t become proud and you forget the Lord your God who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the place of slavery. 
 
I speak a lot about staying faithful and focused during adversity. I write a lot on staying close to God during tough seasons, mundane seasons, tragedy, and disappointment. But what about when we experience success? What do we do when we get the job we want, make the money we need, win the big game, see the healing we prayed for, experience a booming year of business or a fruitful season of ministry? Sometimes, a season of success can reveal more about the flaws deep in our heart than a season of adversity. How do we handle it? I believe the answer lies in our focus. The verse above was written to the Israelites as they prepared to possess the land God promised them. He knew they tended to drift from Him when they experienced prosperity. God remains faithful, but we can drift during prosperity just like the Israelites if we lose focus.
 
The key is to focus more on The Creator than the created. Just like seasons of adversity bring us to our knees in dependance, seasons of success should bring us to our knees in gratitude. In Luke 5, after a long night of unsuccessful fishing, Jesus told Peter and his crew to let their nets down in a different spot. When they did, they caught so many fish their nets began to break. They needed help to haul them all in and the weight from the fish began to sink the boats. This was undoubtedly a memorable catch for Peter. How did he respond? Did he immediately go to shore to start selling his catch for profit? No. He immediately fell at Jesus’ knees. Peter worshipped in response to this miraculous provision because he had the right focus. His focus was on the Source of the provision, not the provision. Let’s renew our focus this week. Let the seasons of success turn your focus back to the source of the success (God), not the success. After all, The Creator is worthy of worship, not the created. 
 
Romans 1:25
They exchanged the truth of God for a lie and worshiped and served what has been created instead of the Creator, who is praised forever. Amen.