Stay Focused, Again!

November 18, 2025

Scripture

“Do not fret because of the wicked; do not be envious of wrongdoers, for they will soon fade

like the grass and wither like the green herb.  Trust in the Lord and do good…”  Psalm 37:1-3a

Stay Focused, Again!

Although it is always the right choice, trusting the Lord God is always with me is not always the easy choice.  I can place my trust in many different things; my retirement account, my influence, my talent, my job, my accomplishments, my status, and even other people  But, these things almost always leave me disappointed and discouraged and distracted as well as often fretting and worried and anxious.

These things continue to disappoint and discourage me because they invite me to focus my attention in the wrong direction.  As I try to navigate the next challenge, each of these things can invite me to trust my strength, my wisdom, and my moral compass.  Or, they invite me to focus on the success of other people or the things other people have acquired or the outward appearances of other people’s lives. 

One of the important lessons King David learned is when we focus upon what other people are doing, what other people are saying, or what we perceive other people have accomplished we tend to lean more upon our perspective or our understanding rather than on God’s perspective and understanding. 

King Solomon (David’s father!) learned that relying on our own perspective and understanding rarely works out for good nor does it work for very long.  In Proverbs 3:5 (NIV) Solomon writes; “Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding…” 

Solomon reminds us that we can choose to trust in the Lord God rather than trust in our own strength or wisdom or moral compass.  In a similar way, I can choose to trust in the Lord God rather than in the motives or success or expectations of other people.

Most of our worry and fretting and anxiety take root when we begin to compare ourselves to other people, especially those who seem to have gotten ahead through evil means.  It is easy to linger on our perception of their success and on our understanding of the seeming effectiveness of their evil ways.

Ultimately, these comparisons become a distraction to trusting the Lord God with all my heart.  These comparisons will often leave me discontent, frustrated, and afraid!  In Psalm 37:3 (NRSV) David writes; “Trust in the Lord and do good; so you will live in the land, and enjoy security.”

In his book titled, Whisper (p. 91) Pastor Mark Batterson says; “We worry way too much about what people think, which is evidence that we don’t worry enough about what God thinks.  It’s fear of people that keeps us from hearing and heeding the voice of God.”

The good news is the Lord God teaches us how to discover deeper peace, joy, and love even when life is still difficult, disappointing, or discouraging.  Through his humble beginnings, his great successes, and his painful moral failures, David learned that peace, joy, and love are discovered when we choose to trust in the Lord God and then do good.  When we choose this life of holiness, David says we will enjoy God’s precious gift of peace. 

In Jeremiah 17:7-8 (NRSV) we hear; “Blessed are those who trust in the Lord, whose trust in the Lord.  They shall be like a tree planted by water, sending out its roots by the stream.  It shall not fear when heat comes, its leaves shall stay green; in the year of drought it is not anxious, and it does not cease to bear fruit.”

A fruitful life (i.e., a life of holiness!) feels a lot more like peace and joy and love than it does fretting and worrying and anxiety.  A life of holiness is always a choice we make; a choice to shift our focus from our self and other people to the Lord God.  We choose to trust in the Lord God and then do good.

Reflect

Are you experiencing more fretting than God’s peace?  Are you experiencing more worry than the joy of the Holy Spirit?  Are you experiencing more anxiety in your relationships than you are the gift of God’s unconditional love?  What is getting in the way of trusting Jesus more?  Why is it so often easier for you to be a fretting person than it is to be a person with a deep and abiding trust in the Lord God?

Pray

Lord God, show me the blessing of trusting you rather than worrying about the people who get ahead through evil ways.  Send someone that can show me how to trust you more and to worry less. 

Lord God, I don’t want to compare my life to other people.  I want to compare my life to your son, Jesus.  Lord God, I don’t want to live up to other people’s expectations of me.  I want to live up to your expectations of me.  Show me grace when I fail as you show me the way to trust you more.  I pray in the name of Jesus.  Amen.   

Act

Write down the person with whom you most often compare yourself.  What is it about this person that so quickly captures your attention and then draws you into comparisons?  How do you respond when those comparisons leave you fretting rather than trusting the Lord?  What triggers your fretting and worry?  Can you interrupt that trigger before you go too far down the path of fretting and worry and anxiety?