Am I Living With Eyes Focused On Eternity… Struggling With The Flesh

Have you experienced God replaying the same lesson over and over in His word? Everywhere you go, the topic is there? I’ve definitely been going through this with a particular scripture.

(NLT) 2 Corinthians 4:18, “So we don’t look at the troubles we can see now; rather, we fix our gaze on things that cannot be seen. For the things we see now will soon be gone, but the things we cannot see will last forever.”

Eternal focus.

By the title, so there is no confusion/assumption, when I say, “struggling with the flesh” what I mean is I believe the Holy Spirit is showing me, in the word of God, how my day to day struggles or trials/worries do not compare for what is to come. We are to have an eternal focus in this life. 

This is something WE ALL FACE every day! It’s not unique to any individual. We all experience in different ways stress, anxiety, worry, fear, trials, etc. People frustrate us, and maybe we want to yell at them, tell them how they are wrong or give them a list of their flaws. We have plans for the future, but we don’t have full control. We desire particular careers or things to happen in our lives, yet again, we do not have full control.

One reason why I’m grateful I wrote my post on visionary boards and the warning that comes with them is God was showing me in scripture how everything needs to be brought to Him. EVERYTHING! Despite what others may say, our life is NOT focused on what we would desire, it’s about Jesus Christ and His plan in our lives that relate to His glory.

(NIV) 1 Peter 4:11, “…If anyone serves, they should do so with the strength God provides, so that in all things God may be praised through Jesus Christ…”

(ESV) Colossians 3:17, “And whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through Him.”

Regarding eternity and focusing on everything we do with an eternal purpose it changes perspective. It forces us to get out of the “fantasy bubble” we have created for ourselves. It forces us to ask the question, “How I can focus on Jesus in EVERYTHING I do and EVERYTHING I say?” or it further prods us with, “AM I focusing on Jesus in everything I do and in everything I say?”

When we are focused on what we want out of life it CAN be a huge distraction, not saying this is always the case just that we need to be careful. God’s plan may not look like what we want initially. As someone who struggles with change and uncertainty, these very factors occur a lot in my life. My struggles God uses to point me right back to Him.

He is showing me that thankfulness is one major way we can pray without ceasing. Being able to have carpet, filtered water, drink coffee, have groceries, look out the window, sleep on a bed, etc. There are SO many things to be grateful for that are taken for granted every second. I want that to change, and I believe through Jesus I can be more aware of these daily blessings. That every action can have a “thank you, Jesus” attached to it.

We run this race with Christ!

Being in His presence (scripture reading and prayer) is going to help us grow in scriptural knowledge and discernment. He will help us surrender sins and repent. This is going to help us love others like Jesus when we are frustrated because we are putting on Jesus and His Spirit produces fruit in us. He is going to help us have faith in Him over uncertainty, even when our prayers go unanswered for long periods of time or we never get what we pray for.

He is our path. He is our home! Most of the stuff in my life will not make it through fire. Any post I write that is not related to Jesus, I don’t know how much that helps someone’s eternity. We are human, but those truly in Christ are His saints (no, you do not have to be dead to be a saint, please read scripture.) We need to reflect Him. 

Let’s not be afraid to talk more about Christ. Let’s not slow down in showing others how scripture relates to life! See yesterday’s post as example: We Are Like Bread Dough & God Is The Kneader.

Comment Below:

How can you focus on eternity in your life? 

Monthly Scripture- (NKJ) Psalm 85:02, “You have forgiven the iniquity of Your people; You have covered all their sin. Selah.” 

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