Fearing God from A to Z

F is for Focus

Last spring we heard an unusual tapping sound coming from our drive
way. Stepping outside we discovered a bird perched in front of the rear view mirror on the car. The sparrow was pecking at the mirror over and over. We watched her stop to gaze at her image and then start pecking 
again. Cute little bird.

Eventually, Ray scared her away. But as soon as he walked in the house, 

she swooped back to the mirror to ponder and peck at her reflection. The next morning she flew in to stare and peck at the mirror again.  

By the third day, her obsession wasn't so cute anymore. Ray covered the 

mirror with a bag to discourage her. She moved to the driver's side. We covered that one too. She migrated to the truck mirrors.  

Did she think of herself as the best looking bird on the block? Or did her 

obsession grow out of insecurities and self-loathing? For us, it's usually the 
latter. Either way, it kept her from interacting with the other birds. It also 
kept her eyes off her Creator.

The same proves true for us. When we look too long and close at ourselves 

we lose sight of the One who made us. God delights in those who fear Him 

(Ps. 147:11), those who put their hope in Him and their eyes on Him. He 

also has a purpose for us we can't pursue when we focus too much on
ourselves.

Rather than act like that sparrow, whether pridefully or critically self-absorbed, 
we can focus on the Lord by delighting in Him (Ps. 37:4). That's easy to do because the longer we look at Him, the more goodness we find. 

I don't know about you but I'd rather delight in God's perfection than despair

over my imperfections. Wasting anymore time focusing on something so futile is for the birds.