What we truly believe is all to do with what’s in our line of vision and what we choose to see because our FOCUS inevitably governs our beliefs, future and destiny.
An excellent illustration of the correlation between focus and belief is the account of the twelve spies Moses sent out to survey the land God had led them to after the Israelite’s deliverance from Egypt and slavery. (Numbers chap 13-14) These twelve men were all “giants” in their own right, being leaders of their tribes and renowned as men of courage whom their families all looked to for guidance and protection. They were essentially the “cream of the crop”, chosen from a community of over three million people for their leadership skills and ability.
Sadly, history doesn’t remember most of these men as great men of faith and leadership but instead as cowards who could not trust God and take their promised land. We remember them as men who caved under pressure and even attempted to kill innocent men to silence the only two other spies, Joshua and Caleb. They stood up and resisted the temptation to tremble in fear, nor to remain silent when every other spy and leader brought back an evil report regarding the land God had led them so miraculously to.
The difference between Joshua and Caleb and the ten other spies was that they refused to focus on the strength of their enemies fortified cities, the fierceness of the people who lived there or the vastness of the land and all the possible what-ifs and unknowns. Instead, they chose to focus on the potential and opportunity God had brought them. They looked at the land and saw its fruitfulness, the blessing, the provision and the great vision and plan God had for them as a people. Joshua and Caleb didn’t fail to consider the challenges they would face regarding the land’s inhabitants. Still, in acknowledging the problems, they then chose to extinguish doubt and unbelief from their hearts and minds by focusing on God’s potential blessing and ability and remembering what He had already brought them through.
The choice of their focus shaped what they believed and, consequently, everything they saw, heard and spoke as a result. Their choice of focus enabled them and their immediate families to enter the land while everyone else their age and older died, having never lived the life for which God had planned. (Read the account in Numbers 13:1-31; 14:1-36)
Today choose well what you focus on because it will shape what you believe.
What you “see” will undoubtedly enhance or limit your ability to either possess your promise or keep you wandering in a “desert” of fear, lost vision and potential.
We are all called and chosen for something; but our destiny and success is dependant on whether we both individually and corporately are brave enough to focus on what God is revealing and decide to step forward when He says, “move!”
“Have I not commanded you? Be strong and of good courage; do not be afraid, nor dismayed, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go.” (Joshua 1:9 NLT)
“Set your gaze on the path before you. With fixed purpose, looking straight ahead, ignore life’s distractions. Watch where you’re going! Stick to the path of truth, and the road will be safe and smooth before you. Don’t allow yourself to be sidetracked for even a moment or take the detour that leads to darkness.” (Proverbs 4:25 TPT)
“So do not throw away this confident trust in the Lord. Remember the great reward it brings you! Patient endurance is what you need now so that you will continue to do God’s will. Then you will receive all that He has promised.” (Hebrews 10:35 NLT)
Prayer: Lord, please help me learn the lessons from your Word and choose well what I focus upon. Forgive me for when I have stepped back in fear and believed a “bad report” regarding my future when you repeatedly say you have plans to prosper me and not to harm me, plans to give me hope and a future beyond my wildest dreams and imagination. I believe in great things to unfold in my life today. In Jesus name. Amen