Who's vying for that spot?

And now, dear brothers and sisters, one final thing. Fix your thoughts on what is true, and honorable, and right, and pure, and lovely, and admirable. Think about things that are excellent and worthy of praise. (Philippians 4:8)

Have you ever taken notice of how easy it is to get your mind working in the wrong direction? It doesn't take much effort to drift down that bunny-trail without a care in the world, until all of a sudden you see how 'deep' it is! God tells us to 'fix' our thoughts - not like fixing your car, but to 'consider attentively'. When our minds go down the bunny-trail, there isn't a whole lot of 'attention' being paid to where we are headed. In fact, we are a bit aimless in those thoughts. We allow them to dictate the journey rather than us determining the journey.

We are to give our minds 'attentively' (on purpose, with determination) to think about who Jesus is and what he has done. What did he do while he was here on earth? What is he doing now that he is at the right hand of God the Father? How did he go about his work? Who mattered to him? What didn't faze him? In other words, we are to meditate upon who and what he is. These are indeed thoughts that are excellent and worthy of praise! If we are feeling a bit down, it is likely that our thoughts are not fixed on Jesus because he doesn't go down that bunny-hole!

True and honorable thoughts. That might take us a bit of effort, huh? It is easy to imagine what isn't 'fully true' because the truth can sometimes expose what we don't want exposed. It is easiest to get caught up in thoughts that call into question someone else's fault or faux pas and not ours. Remember this - to 'fix' upon something, there has to be determined motion toward it. Fix your thoughts upon truth and you will find yourself seeking truth, weeding out deception of all kinds in your thoughts, and looking toward what is honorable, right, pure, lovely, and ultimately admirable. 

We have a bird feeder that is 'well-attended' by the neighborhood flocks. They try to 'fix' upon the edge of the tray that holds the seed because that is how they get nourished. When there are ten birds all vying for the same spot in line on the perch, it is amazing to watch their behavior. They crawl on each other, flap their wings to stay on the perch, and generally cause more chaos than 'attentive feeding'. When there are so many thoughts vying for our attention, it easy to allow the chaos to be our focus and not Christ. Fix on him and you will find your thoughts nourish your soul, spirit, and heart a whole lot more! Just sayin!

It is up to us

I have days when it seems like I can accomplish just about anything, and others where it seems like there is nothing getting done. Interruptions seem to rob my planned activities and replace them with those that were unplanned. The harder you seem to work at something (especially those things that are a little harder to accomplish in the first place), the more difficult it seems to become. You never seem to "catch up", never seem to fully "grasp" the goal - making it harder and harder to get to the desired end. In the end, you just stand there in total frustration, more in a muddle than you were when you first began. Just as quickly as we started, we find ourselves out of energy to continue the journey toward that goal! We stop short of the goal - never really crossing the finish line. What a waste, huh? Or is it? We all need reminders from time to time to stay focused even when there are things that aren't going so well for us. 

You know by now that I like the writings of the Apostle Paul - I seem to associate with his heart, I guess. His honesty is what always draws me to his words - the struggles, the questions, and then his simple trust. One of my favorite passages: "I'm not saying that I have this all together, that I have it made. But I am well on my way, reaching out for Christ, who has so wondrously reached out for me. Friends, don't get me wrong: By no means do I count myself an expert in all of this, but I've got my eye on the goal, where God is beckoning us onward—to Jesus. I'm off and running, and I'm not turning back." (Philippians 3:12-14) He hasn't "arrived" - and neither have we! He is open about the struggle (the strain) it takes to reach the goal set out before us - it could be a spiritual, emotional, physical, or even a financial goal. He isn't the "expert", but he knows the voice of his God beckoning him onward. Here we find the point of most of our failure - in our hearing of God's voice beckoning us onward, telling us not to forsake the goal. We all struggle with the "stretch" once in a while, but sometimes we struggle more than others - either because we hear and don't respond, or because we just refuse to hear.

So let's keep focused on that goal, those of us who want everything God has for us. If any of you have something else in mind, something less than total commitment, God will clear your blurred vision—you'll see it yet! Now that we're on the right track, let's stay on it. (Philippians 3:15-16)

Anything less than total commitment really is not commitment! Commitment suggests engagement - active participation, purposeful movement, active listening. Anything less is really "dis-engagement". Paul's reminder to us is of the need for total engagement. Throughout scripture, we see accounts of many who start well, then get off-course along the way, heading down some path that just doesn't make any sense. Why? It usually begins in the "listening" deep within their hearts and minds. We "hear" a lot of stuff, BUT what we "listen to" is what affects us the deepest. I have shared many times - listening is an action, not a passive process. Listening is indeed engagement. It makes no sense to hear clear direction and then ignore it, right? Yet, we do! We read God's Word, become acquainted with God's will for us, then just go on without ever "conforming" to his will - all the while wondering why we aren't making any progress toward that goal. It is all a matter of focus - the clearer our focus, the easier it is to stay on track. It is God who gives us clarity - it is up to us what we do with the clarity we receive! Just sayin!