I love movies. The story-telling. The cinematography. The sense that you are entering another world for a short period of time.
One of my favorite “special effects” in movies is when the camera focuses on a person in the foreground while the background is blurry. Then the cameraman changes the lens to focus on what is behind the person. Suddenly you see the danger approaching or the what the main character has been searching for during the entire film. We couldn’t see it until the focus was changed.
It’s like that in life too. It’s so easy to focus on what’s right in front of us. The problems. The mess.
We see the spilt coffee. The endless string of red lights on our drive to work. The news of earthquakes and riots on the news.
But we can choose to change our focus. Adjust the lens. After the coffee is cleaned up, savor the delicious taste of the vanilla latte. While sitting at the red light worship along with the songs on the radio. Concentrate on the good news of one small baby who survived the rubble of Nepal.
When we look at our everyday world we can see crime and chaos. But if we keep our eyes open we can also see glimpses of God. No Jesus probably won’t come to me walking on the waters of Lake Michigan. But if I’m paying attention to the clues, I can sense Him in the scent of the lilacs. I can see Him in the multi-colored rainbow. I am reminded of His care in the embrace of a friend.
I have to admit–I am writing these words for me today. With my husband’s lymphoma diagnosis, it’s easy to get depressed if I focus on the diagnosis, on the difficult treatments, on the annoying waiting time.
What I need to do is focus on God’s promise to give me peace in the problems. I need to remember how He has always come through for us in the past. I need to look for the goodness and beauty He promises to manufacture out of pain.
So let’s all adjust our lenses to focus on Jesus instead of the mess, the chaos, the pain of this life.
Action point: Choose to focus your lens on Jesus today. Look for Him in your everyday life, in the nature surrounding you, and in the people you meet.
