Focus

This morning I read Deuteronomy 1:32-36.  I was struck by the "bookends" of these verses.  The verses begin with "you did not trust God" and end with Caleb followed God wholeheartedly.  It was quite the contrast, from no trust to wholehearted trust.

"On a scale of one to ten, can you tell me what your pain level is?"  Every day at the conclusion of my radiation treatment I heard this question.  My answer was recorded to give the medical personnel a quantitative measure of my status.  Depending on my answer, my treatment could be changed or enhanced.

Today, I envisioned a trust scale, that would give me a picture of my trust in God.  Zero is no trust in God and 10 is wholehearted.  Moses used Caleb as the example of one who wholeheartedly followed God.

I flipped back to Numbers 13 & 14 to read the actual account of Caleb and his trust in God.  He was one of the spies who explored the hill country prior to the Israelites moving forward.  After the spies gave their report, there must have been murmuring, grumbling and complaining because Caleb had to silence the crowd.  He stood before an unhappy audience.

He encouraged the crowd to remember the land has been and will be good and the Lord would lead them.  He asked them not to rebel and not to be afraid. He reminded them that God would give the victory and God was with them. 

Unfortunately, the mass of people were on the "zero" end of the trust scale and as a result spent more time in the desert wandering.

Each day I have a multitude of opportunities to trust God.  I think for a while I'm going to ask myself, "on a scale of zero to ten, do I trust God in this moment?"  This is not a competitive or prideful project.  Rather, I want my answer to remind me that my goal is 10- to follow God wholeheartedly.  If I'm not even on the higher end of  my trust scale, I'm going to ask "What will take for me to move toward the "10" end of the trust scale?"

My answer today is Focus.  Focus every day, in every circumstance.

Focus on God - what He has done and has promised, God is my leader.

Focus on obedience -  Do not rebel.  When all else fails, do what God says.

Focus on the future - God has promised me good things in my future.