What Is Your Focus?

1. It was the size of a school bus.
2. It traveled in orbit around the Earth at 17,000 miles an hour.
3. Work on the telescope began in 1977 and was launched in 1990.

But Hubble had a severe flaw which meant NASA had just launched a 1.5-billion-dollar paperweight into space. As a result, the Hubble Telescope was permanently out of focus. In the months that followed, the telescope became a national joke because a telescope that couldn't correctly focus meant it was useless.

But NASA being NASA, Engineered a fix. They designed a set of glasses for the telescope, sent them up into space in a shuttle, and installed them on the telescope. The glasses corrected the focus on the telescope. Because the Hubble Telescope had the wrong focus, it almost stopped significant funding for NASA for years to come. Still, when the focus was corrected, it inspired generations of space explorers.

Our focus will either stop us or move us to action. What you focus on will form you. Show me your focus, and I can tell you what kind of life you will live.

The same principle of focus can be seen in the life of David. David was a teenager who had just been chosen to be the next king, but he was still just a teenager living at home with his parents. He was a shepherd - guarding the sheep out in the fields. The Philistines are a neighboring tribe of warriors who want to go to war with Israel. They are lined up and ready for war. David was focused on the sheep. Philistines were focused on the war. Israel was focused on survival.

How do we focus on the right things?

1. Focus on the size of your God rather than the size of your giant.

Our giants - our problems, challenges - can seem vast and overwhelming. So, let's take a look at David's story.

Then Goliath, a Philistine champion from Gath, came out of the Philistine ranks - He was over nine feet tall! He wore a bronze helmet, and his bronze armor weighed 125 pounds. Goliath stood and shouted a taunt across to the Israelites. 'Why are you all coming out to fight?' he called. 'I am the Philistine champion, but you are only the servants of Saul. Choose one man to come down here and fight me! If he kills me, then we will be your slaves. But if I kill him, you will be our slaves! I defy the armies of Israel today! Send me a man who will fight me!" When Saul and the Israelites heard this, they were terrified and deeply shaken." I Samuel 17:4-11

Eventually, David - still a teenager - came to bring his brothers' food to the front line and saw how afraid all the Israelites were of the giant, Goliath. David asked the soldiers standing nearby, 'Who is this pagan Philistine anyway that he is allowed to define the armies of the living God?'" 1 Samuel 17:26 If we focus on the giant problem, we can miss what God wants to do. David was unafraid because he knew his God was bigger than his giant.

2. Focus on how God has rescued you in the past rather than your fear of the present. 

The story goes on.

'Don't worry about this Philistine,' David told Saul. 'I'll go fight him!' 'Don't be ridiculous!' Saul replied. 'There's no way you can fight this Philistine and possibly win! You're only a boy, and he's been a man of war since his youth.' But David persisted. 'I have been taking care of my father's sheep and goats,' he said. 'When a lion or a bear comes to steal a lamb from the flock, I go after it … The Lord who rescued me from the claws of the lion and the bear will rescue me from this Philistine!' Saul finally consented. 'All right, go ahead,' he said. 'And may the Lord be with you!'" 1 Samuel 17:33-37

Did you catch that? David did not step out in blind faith. On the contrary, David had a history with God on smaller matters. When you read the details of the passage, you learn David uses a sling as his weapon because people who hunt with a sling get good at it. For example, my father-in-law hunted with a sling as a kid. He got so good that he could kill a squirrel with his sling. David has killed small game with his sling. He has fought off lions and bears with his sling and his club. He looks at Goliath and thinks, "Look how big he is. I can't miss it!"

We learn to take down giants in our lives by exercising our faith muscles in smaller situations. David was focused on the times God had rescued him in the past. David was not focused on his fear in the present.

3. Focus on the battle being the Lord's - not yours. 

If the battle is yours - you should be afraid. If the battle is the Lord's, you have nothing to fear!

David replied to the Philistine, 'You come to me with sword, spear, and javelin, but I come to you in the name of the Lord of Heaven's Armies - the God of the armies of Israel, whom you have defied. Today the Lord will conquer you, and I will kill you and cut off your head. And everyone assembled here will know that the Lord rescues his people, but not with sword and spear. This is the Lord's battle, and he will give you to us!' 1 Samuel 17:45-47

Scripture describes David picking up a smooth stone, loading it into his slingshot, and striking Goliath in one of the few exposed parts of his body - his forehead. The stone killed him on the spot. David then took Goliath's sword and cut off the giant's head. And the armies of Israel charged after the Philistine army in victory. Notice how David talks about this years later:

"I prayed to the Lord, and he answered me. He freed me from all my fears.

Those who look to him for help will be radiant with joy. No shadow of shame will darken their faces.

In my desperation, I prayed, and the Lord listened. He saved me from all my troubles." Psalm 24:4-6

Prayer moves my focus from my problem to my provider. Prayer reminds me that the battle is the Lord's, not mine. Imagine if we didn't just look at our giants but looked for God in every situation. Imagine if we focused on how God rescued us in the past rather than our fears in the present. Imagine if we decided the battle is the Lord's and not ours. What would your life look like if your focus changed from what you lack to what God can do?

Focus changes everything. What is your focus?

Mary Southerland is also the Co-founder of Girlfriends in God, a conference and devotion ministry for women. Mary’s books include, Hope in the Midst of Depression, Sandpaper People, Escaping the Stress Trap, Experiencing God’s Power in Your Ministry, 10-Day Trust Adventure, You Make Me So Angry, How to Study the Bible, Fit for Life, Joy for the Journey, and Life Is So Daily. Mary relishes her ministry as a wife, a mother to their two children, Jered and Danna, and Mimi to her six grandchildren – Jaydan, Lelia, Justus, Hudson, Mo, and Nori.