Focus or Frenzy?

But the LORD said to Samuel, “Do not look at his appearance or at his physical stature, because I have refused him. For the LORD does not see as man sees; for man looks at the outward appearance, but the LORD looks at the heart.”
1 Samuel 16:7

It’s happened to everyone: You go online—to make a single purchase—and an hour and many clicks later you are on a totally unrelated website wondering how you got there. We sometimes act like small children who are attracted by bright lights and loud noises. What we do externally often bears little resemblance to what we intended to do internally.

But it’s not just the Internet; it can happen in all of life. As we begin a new year, let’s remind ourselves that it is the heart that gives focus and direction to the head and hands. When the prophet Samuel went to anoint one of Jesse’s sons as the next king of Israel, God reminded him that “the Lord looks at the heart.” Every day we have the opportunity to stay on or get off track. We can find ourselves remaining focused or lost in irrelevancy. It all depends on the heart’s focus.

Like the Internet, life can be frenetic. Stay on track this year by staying internally focused on Christ and His Word.

He who has the Holy Spirit in his heart and the Scriptures in his hands has all he needs.
Alexander MacLaren