The second letter of the word FOCUS, the O stands for only.

Many say “if only I could do this,” or “if only this would happen,” as a plea for help in a situation. And while we all need to act in those situations, sometimes it is when we act that we wish we hadn’t, as we realize we travelled down the wrong road and made the wrong decision. But what would happen if, before making the decision, we first went to One who I’d like to call ‘the One and Only’? Here’s what I mean:

“My eyes are ever on the Lord, for only he will release my feet from the snare. ” Psalm 25:15

“The Lord will fight for you; you need only to be still.” Exodus 14:14

“Jesus answered, ‘It is written: Worship the Lord your God and serve him only.'” Luke 4:8

In each of these verses, there is a emphasis that needs further attention. The first verse speaks of the direction of eye. As our eyes look on Someone, our body will follow suit. Once that happens our feet (since they are attached to the rest of our body) will be taken out of the snare of going down a wrong path, associating with the wrong people, making bad decisions, and so on. How many times we have erred by doing our own thing, when the focus is to turn our eyes only on the One who steer us clear from such negative forces?

There are also times when we need to stand still, and let God fight for us. We may want to handle the situation ourselves, but as God told persons like Samuel (I Samuel 12:16) and Jahaziel (II Chronicles 20:14-17), the same holds true for us today. If we are honest, due to the busyness of our hectic schedules, we don’t always hear, or we do hear and chose to put our focus on our version of the one and only: ourselves. Then we discover we are back in the familiar territory of our own choosing, a place that yields the same dismal results. But what if we are patient enough to do nothing, and instead wait for the best solution to our dilemma that causes us to stand in awe of what God did for us? Some food for thought…

The last verse is where the rubber meets the road, where the essence of the our topic hinges on: worshipping God and Him only. When the point of our focus is not on making the most money, making our children more important than they should be, not on our efforts in making things right, and instead focusing on God, we have won the battle of linking to the One and Only. No longer do we take the responsibility of the decision, it is relinquished over to God. That doesn’t mean we do nothing. It does mean listening to God through prayer, reading the bible, getting wise counsel, and not carrying the world’s weight on our shoulders. When we give the ‘its’ of our lives over to God, He will truly be our One and Only for everything we need in life.

“Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you.” I Peter 5:7

Be strengthenized…