1 Chronicles 5-9 – Where’s Your Focus?

There’s a term in photography called “depth of field.” It’s the range in which things are kept in focus. It’s how you keep your subject in focus and everything else out of focus.

1 Chronicles chapter 9 stands out in sharp focus against the blurred information proceeding it.

This chapter begins with this statement; “The people of Judah were exiled to Babylon because they were unfaithful to the Lord.” (NLT) Then, after a short generalized list of those who returned from exile, the chapter focuses on the priests and the Levites, because they were charged with:

  • Dealing with sin.
  • Guarding the entrance of the temple.
  • Worship.
  • Caring for the temple.

Because 1 Chronicles 9:1 plainly says that God’s people were exiled because they were unfaithful, the rest of the chapter focuses sharply on the temple, the priests, and the priests’ faithful representation of God’s presence and ways.

What’s that got to do with you and me?

It’s very easy to allow your depth of field to become so broad that everything seems important. But this leads to unfaithfulness…which leads to our own relational exile from God.

We need to keep our focus sharply on God…to the point that everything else goes out of focus. We need to stay focused on God by:

  • Dealing with our sin (as priests.)
  • Guarding the gates of our hearts and minds (as the gatekeepers.)
  • Being constantly ready to worship (as the musicians.)
  • Taking care of our bodies (as the temple of God.) (1 Cor. 6:19)

Keep your depth of field narrow, by keeping your highest focus and attention on God and His presence in your life.

2 Kings 3 – Rediscovering What We’ve Forgotten

When my children were little, they had more toys than they could play with on a regular basis. Consequently, as they played with their favorite toy of the week, other toys would sit forgotten at the bottom of the toy box. Then one day, seemingly out of the blue, they would start digging through the toy box and come across the toys they had forgotten. Suddenly, these old toys were like brand new toys to them.

The same sort of thing happened to me when I read through 2 Kings chapter 3. Some of the new/old things I found there were…

  • Our tendency to make the same mistakes over and over again. (v. 3)
  • The importance of loyalties, even in the face of differing opinions. (v. 7)
  • How quick we are to blame or discount God. (v. 10)
  • The importance of having God’s presence and instruction in everything we do. (v. 11)
  • How a godly presence benefits, and sometimes saves, the ungodly. (v. 14)
  • That nothing is impossible for God. (v. 20)
  • That God can use simple things (like refection on water) to carry out His purpose. (v. 22-24)
  • God’s word and His promises will come to pass…without fail. (v. 19, 25)

These are elementary principles we all know. But too often, they become like forgotten toys at the bottom of the toy box that need to be rediscovered.

May we not be so interested in making new discoveries about God and His will that we fail to rediscover what we already know to be true and powerful. May the old principles of our faith become the rediscovered practices of our life.

1 Samuel 7 – Wandering Off

You’ve seen it before. A young child is walking through a store with a parent when the child gets distracted and wanders off. But when the child realizes they can’t see their parent, they begin to feel vulnerable and scared. Their lip starts to quiver, tears begin to roll, and they cry out for their parent with increasing panic and volume.

This is a picture of 1 Samuel chapter 7. The children of Israel have wandered off from God to explore other things. When they begin to miss God’s presence, they mourn, believing God had abandoned them. (1 Sam. 7:2) Samuel points out it was they who abandoned God. (1 Sam. 7:3) Samuel calls them to stop chasing after things that don’t satisfy and instead seek and obey God. (1 Sam. 7:3)

The people respond rightly and return to God. In turn, God’s presence (not their prowess) saves them and brings them security. (1 Sam. 7:10-11)

Like that wandering child or those wandering Israelites, we get distracted by other things (success, financial security, material things, relationships, pleasure, etc.) and we wander off from God. We typically don’t realize it at the time…until things start to fall apart.

Then we wonder why God has left us…when in fact it was we who left Him. (Heb. 13:5) But if we will cry out to Him and submit to Him, He will joyfully and powerfully respond. (James 4:7-10)

So how about it? Look around. Do you see God close by, or have you wandered off from Him. If you’re off by yourself…you now know what to do.

Numbers 11 – Lighten Up!

I hate to admit it, but I’ve become a complainer…at least more than I used to be.

I’m not sure what happened. I used to be more up-beat, more positive, and more hopeful. It seems as the demands and stresses of life increased, so did my my complaining. Maybe I have more things to complain about now than I did before. (Or maybe I’m just more aware of those things.)

I know some of this is normal and natural. It’s what happens as you grow older. And I certainly don’t want to go through life oblivious to legitimate concerns, but neither do I want to go through life complaining about them.

After reading Numbers chapter 11, I’ve come to realize that complaining doesn’t come from being overly focused on important considerations, but rather from ignoring more important considerations.

Complaining is what happens when we ignore God’s presence, God’s provision, and God’s power. It makes sense, because my complaining if often born out of:

  • Feeling like I’m on my own. (Ignoring God’s presence.)
  • Feeling like I don’t have what I need. (Ignoring God’s provision.)
  • Feeling like something is going to happen to me that I can’t control. (Ignoring God’s power.)

When I focus on God’s presence, provision, then these issues are decidedly answered.

It’s really true…the key to lightening up is looking up!

If you’re one of those people who find yourself complaining more than you use to, try praying this prayer to God every morning: “God, please help each urge to complain trigger me instead to focus on Your presence, provision, and power. Change my heart from focusing on my complaining to focusing on your sustaining.”