We have been working on the book of Romans, and the 4 themes derived from there. This week, we are looking at Theme no 3, on Faith & Action. However, I’m deviating a little from Romans, and looking at Psalms 62.
Psalm 62: 5-8
Yes, my soul, find rest in God;
my hope comes from him.
6 Truly he is my rock and my salvation;
he is my fortress, I will not be shaken.
7 My salvation and my honor depend on God[c];
he is my mighty rock, my refuge.
8 Trust in him at all times, you people;
pour out your hearts to him,
for God is our refuge.
From the main theme of Faith & Action, the subject of our visualization exercise today is on the topic of Focus. As in, when a crisis happens, and we are called to put our Faith in SOMETHING, and to Act on it, what exactly do we FOCUS on?
For example, pain is usually an indication that something is wrong somewhere. If you fall and break a limb or get a cut, or you have an abdominal pain somewhere, that tells you that some part of your body needs medical attention, and right now! Now, do we continue to focus on that pain, eg, how miserable this is making me, oh why me et nauseam, or should we focus on what we need to do to resolve that pain? Or also, WHO do we need to look to help resolve that pain? Eg a doctor! And this doesn’t just apply to physical pain, it can also include emotional or spiritual pain. In any of these situations, the fruitful focus is not on the misery caused by the pain, but on the useful message of that pain. For example, if we are driving, and a red light flashes on the car dashboard, its not very useful to think “Well that light is really irritating me, just when I’m rushing to work!” You would have to think, “I better do something useful about what that light is telling me!”
And during this pandemic season, we don’t have to look too far to see what is the wrong focus isn’t it? We can see all sorts of wrong focuses on how NOT to cope with this pain that all of us are feeling, eg panic buying, lashing out, not complying with sanitary practices etc.
That’s why I chose this passage from Psalms 62, that no matter what times of trouble we are in, do we focus on the trouble, or on God, “who is my Rock and my salvation, my fortress that would not be shaken”.
Is there anything else that the verse is speaking to you?
In times of pain, where is your focus? Is it on the misery of the pain, or looking towards the correct source of healing?
I hope that inspires you to create something! When you are done, please take a photo and share it to this page, to encourage others!
See you again next week & blessings!
Tun I