Moving Forward

So many things happen on a daily basis to distract us from what we should be doing. Distractions can cause a person to lose sight of what is really important. Distractions come in many disguises {some may even seem like good ideas at the time} and all for one reason; to move you from your expected end. When you are distracted, you lose focus, your plans disintegrate and you falter - you stop moving forward.

Many times, the biggest distractions come in the form of really big problems that block us from our goals. Anytime we shift focus from the goal to the problem, we can easily get into a rut that is hard to get out of.

When the children of Israel went to spy out the Promised Land they came back with an evil report because they magnified the problem, not their solution.

"...and they returned from searching of the land...and they told him and said, we came to the land whither thou hast sent us and surely it floweth with milk and honey, and this is the fruit of it. Nevertheless the people be strong that dwell in the land, and the cities are walled and very great." (Numbers 13:25-30)

Joshua and Caleb -- who had an internal vision of their expected end -- focused on what God had said and refused to be distracted. They focused on taking possession. Those in their midst who allowed themselves to be distracted from the promise, said:

"...we be not able to go up against the people; for they are stronger than we...all the people that we saw in it are men of great stature...and we were in our own sight as grasshoppers, and so we were in their sight. (Numbers 13:31-33. Read Numbers 14:6- 9)

The word mag means 'to make big or large', and the word net means 'to catch.' When we put them together, the word magnet means "a large catch." Whenever we focus on a problem it becomes a large catch in our thinking. People who become frustrated, depressed and then quit often do so after they encounter a problem and don't see a way around it. Remember -- failing does not make you a failure, quitting does.

One way to deal with problems is to focus on the goal (what we desire, the solution) and not the problem. Focusing on the goal decreases the magnitude of the problem. Too often, we do what the children of Israel did, in that we make our problems so large that we cannot see around, over or through them.

Focusing on what God has said about us causes our internal image to enlarge to the point where external situations have no choice but to line up with the dominating image on the inside of us. Once we realize what and who we are and how we are created to function, we become unstoppable! Things that once held us down cannot any longer and will not be any match for us because we have a clear picture of our expected end -- the solution and the promise!

The more solution-focused you become the more likely you will be to move forward and more immune to the power of distractions. It is this type of determination that will breed your successful outcomes.

To your success,

Allen & Lloyda