Romans 7:18-25 ” And I know that nothing good lives in me, that is, in my sinful nature. I want to do what is right, but I can’t. I want to do what is good, but I don’t. I don’t want to do what is wrong, but I do it anyway. But if I do what I don’t want to do, I am not really the one doing wrong; it is the sin living in me that does it. I have discovered this principle of life-that when I want to do what is right , I inevitably do what is wrong. I love God’s law with all my heart. But there is another power within me that is at war with my mind. This power makes me a slave to the sin that is still within me. Oh, what a miserable person I am! Who will free me from this life that is dominated by sin and death? Thank God! The answer is in Jesus Christ our Lord. So you see how it is: In my mind I really want to obey God’s law, but because of my sinful nature I am a slave to sin.”
” ….. Paul is very frustrated with himself because of his sinful nature. I can relate to Paul’s frustration. Lately, I have been so busy with my life that I have lost my focus. Things have come my way and I take on more responsibility than I should. I am tired when I go to sleep and when I wake up, I am just as tired and drained. I have lost my focus. I have put my busy before my Lord. I am like a hamster in a wheel, running and running and never getting any where. My busy life has become an ideal and I have worshipped that before I worship my Lord. Don’t get me wrong, I know better, but like Paul, I am very frustrated with what I am doing with my life. I am paving a path of good intentions and that is it. I have suffered and so has my family, because I have lost my focus. So how did this happen, when I know better? Little by little. I may have been to busy to seek my Lord today. Before you know it, it’s a two days, a week and now a month. This has left me frustrated, tired, and heavy hearted. Any thing that is put above God is an idol, so I have been worshipping a busy life without Jesus as my focus. A life without Jesus is pointless. I am wrong and I repent to the Lord for my sinful nature. I have been a slave to a busy lifestyle with no inner peace. Oppressed with no rest.
I appolgize to Sara and all the beautiful Lilies. I am sorry that I have not been focused and I humble myself before you and ask for your forgiveness. I know if one person is not doing their part and obedient to God’s will, that the entire body of Christ suffers. This was not my intention and I’m sorry for letting you down. I am wrong, but I know how to make it right. I have been down, but I know , ” No, dear brothers and sisters, I have not achieved it, but I focus on this one thing: Forgetting the past and looking forward to what lies ahead, I press on to reach the end of the race and recieve the heavenly prize for which God, through Christ Jesus, is calling us.”…. Paul tells us to focus and refocus and refocus on Christ Jesus until the end of the race. As for me I will get up early and make sure I have my time with my Lord, I will be obedient to His will, and I will share this with my friends on the Dailylily. Thank you for your prayers. May God Bless the writers and readers of this beautiful website..
Consider the lilies of the field… Matt 6:28
thedailylily.com 
Wendy, I see and feel great humility in your words. God’s Word tells us in James 4:7 “So humble yourselves before God. RESIST THE DEVIL, and he will flee from you.” And, look at the bonus, …God gives grace to the humble.
It is easy to lose our focus, when we get too busy and too tired. (right where satan wants us!!) We MUST resist him, as God instructs us to. I believe the recent blog on “Scripture of Hope”, will give some helpful insight, on how to keep our focus on the Lord! It has helped me a lot this week.
Thank you, Wendy for sharing your heart, and reminding us in the above scripture that we don’t have to be a slave to sin, because of Jesus Christ! I am joining with you to receive God’s Grace. You are special.
Chickenfarmer, I am in the boat with you many days on losing focus. But, one thing never left our focus @thedailylily.org is just how much we love you and your family. We miss you when you are not writing, interacting, supporting and praying with us, for one another and our outreach through the world wide web.
Your blogs and comments are a vital part of this site. You are missed and very much needed. Glad to have you back on task.
Thanks CF for your transparent disclosure that, as Sara writes, unfortunately, we all suffer at one time or another…… ‘in the same boat’. It is comforting to remember that while our ‘boat’ is being capsized and battered by the torrential attack and blasts of the “WORLD-WIND”.because we have ventured into uncharted waters…Jesus is there in the back of the boat and as soon as we run to Him for help He rises up, calms the sea of distraction, temptation and torment for us and we humble ourselves before Him, swear off our idols of materials things, selfish gains, social climbing and vying for other stuff Jesus is there, waiting for us.
Sara wrote a song awhile back that is indicative of the very thing: Read carefully the lyrics
JESUS IS WAITING THERE (c)
There are so many that have crossed the road
They’ve crossed the road to their wealth, or so they say
But they have missed the path, the Savior walked
To endure, to endure to the end
O, I hear the cry of the Savior say
Come back, come back to Me, My wandering child
O hear My voice that peads to your soul of woe
O lay aside those weights and come back home to Me
For the Master waits for your hand to raise
And join the hand of your Hope
For it’s His hand that will cross the foes
Of all your dark and gloomy days
So hear Your Master say, My light never dims
My peace within will be a stronghold for your soul
O let Me in , O let Me in, I cry today!
For you will find Me there, you’ll find Me waiting there.
I’m waiting there at the door of your soul
To release the chains of your pain
So hear Me when I say, come back to Me My child
Come back to Me, to the place of My rest.
Look up, look up, past the days of gloom
And let My Mourning Dove arise in your heart
‘You’ll find I’m there and waiting for your call
Saying , O Jesus; saying O Jesus; saying oh Jesus
I want to come back home.
This is a glorious song of the greatest hope and that hope is ours if we will grasp it and run back home to JESUS>
chickenfarmer your statement …”So how did this happen, when I know better? Little by little. I may have been to busy to seek my Lord today” is a signal for all of us to pay heed to, including myself. I think back on April 14 God was trying to get our attention through Sara’s prohetic blog, “A scripture of Hope,“Be still, and know that I am God” (Psalm 46:10). I am reminded of Sara’s quote from our first Daily Lily retreat, The Dance of Healing’. She said “Haste is an enemy of reflection.” We can’t reflect when we don’t stop. The still water of a reflecting pool of God can show us where we are going wrong but we have to stop and stand or sit and look in it to see…it doesn’t move with us. It is a fixed and stable feature. Maybe that’s why a reflecting pool can be such an important garden feature in landscape design. It beckons us to come away from all the work in the garden and even all the beauty, to just sit down on a bench beside it and reflect on the Lord.
CF, you have given us a picturesque virtual tour of your lifestyle “I am like a hamster in a wheel, running and running and never getting any where.”
I have never thought of this or heard (hamster theory/therapy). How many of us may think we are focused but really we are focus-less. We really don’t have a focus while thinking we do. I hear so many people say, “I was just so focused.” And, I am thinking how can you be focused with everything around you falling apart while you are running around and making everybody crazy with your circle focus.
I see both the Apostle Paul and yourself, CF, know the truth. There is no focus if our eyes are not focused. Tired when you go to bed and tired when you wake up. WHOOOOPS, one forgot to look before they leaped into self focus. Psalm 121 “I look up to the mountains; does my strength come from mountains? No, my strength comes from God, who made heaven, and earth, and mountains.
He won’t let you stumble,”
It seems to be hamster therapy says, no circles, or rat races will give you rest. But, use your eyes, which are the ‘windows to your soul’ and focus the eyes toward the heavens and the Light will strengthen your being and give you rest from your tiredness. Matthew 6:22 says, “The lamp of the body is the eye.”
I am on my musings to find health truth from your hamster wheel! By the way, does hamsters like to eat?
Yeah, Sara! Hamsters are rather “rude”….THEY EAT AND RUN!!!!! Getit?
MG, I got it!
Well, I guess the Lord has the same problem with some of us. We “eat” a few bites of the Word, wipe our mouths and run off to do OUR own thing.
But, another aspect of it is….if we would EAT the Word of God and continually digest it, then we could probably RUN the race much more easily, better equipped to handle the obstacles on the path of the race of our lives….the “human race”.
MG, I guess you told CJ pretty straight.
Back to Sara’s comments and scripture above…”No, my strength comes from God, who made heaven, and earth, and mountains.
I was singing a chorus this am that has a verse which says..’all my springs of joy are in You.’ And the Bible says that the joy of the Lord is our strength. So both joy and strength have their source in the Lord. He’s the well to drink from when I ‘m fainting and thirsty and running, running because I’m longing for something but never satisfied through the running. Outsourcing the solution to my longing to more work or play or whatever won’t fill the longing.
The Psalmist said in 84…” How lovely is Your tabernacle, O LORD of hosts! My soul longs, yes, even faints For the courts of the LORD; my heart and my flesh cry out for the living God…blessed are those who dwell in Your house; they will still be praising You. Selah. Blessed is the man whose strength is in You, whose heart is set on pilgrimage. As they pass through the Valley of Baca (wweping), they make it a spring; the rain also covers it with pools. They go from strength to strength…”
Thank you Sara, Tammy, MG and Debi, for your above comments, your support and your prayers. God is so good in every situation of life. He knows what will happen before it happens. Since, I have repented for my sinful nature, I feel so much peace. I have more energy and I praise God for this. I know this will be a continuous battle. I also know when I find myself too busy, I need to stop and focus, refocus and refocus. I will fix my eyes upon Jesus. I will keep Hebrews 12:1-2 close to my heart. HEBREWS 12:1-2 “1 THEREFORE, SINCE WE ARE SURROUNDED BY SUCH A HUGE CROWD OF WITNESSES TO THE LIFE OF FAITH, LET US STRIP OFF EVERY WEIGHT THAT SLOWS US DOWN, ESPECIALLY THE SIN THAT SO EASILY TRIPS US UP. 2. WE DO THIS BY KEEPING OUR EYES ON JESUS, THE CHAMPION WHO INITIATES AND PERFECTS OUR FAITH. BECAUSE OF THE JOY AWAITING HIM, HE ENDURED THE CROSS, DISREGARDING ITS SHAME. NOW HE IS SEATED IN THE PLACE OF HONOR BESIDE GOD’S THRONE.” ……..Focusing is more important than the air I breath. If I stop breathing air I’ll die physically. If I stop focusing on Jesus I’ll die eternally. I recently taught a class titled “Concerned Person’s” This book summed it up…
IN CHRIST:
We are loved with everlasting love.
We are heaven-bound.
We are saved by grace.
We are known to God.
We are raised up with Christ.
We are wonderfully made.
We are more than conquerors.
We are forgiven.
We are holy.
We are free from accusation.
We are God’s workmanship and He has a purpose for us.
So instead of focusing outward, I’m focusing upward.. Thank you Jesus!!!
Cf, so happy that you are at peace and have rest in your soul! PTL! Are you enjoying teaching your series of classes on Wednesday night at your church? Great to see that you are grounded and active in your church.
Dear Chickenfarmer. I can certainly identify with you – I focus but often on too many things until I’m scattered. God help us to focus on what you have given us to do. Chickenfarmer, the Holy Spirit showed me a poem and book I had it in that I had long forgotten. Here it is just for you:
I stand on the rock
the rock is my Lord
with outstretched arms do I praise the Lord
I sing of your praises both day and night
as I look over this land – what a fright
so many crumbled lives
so beat down
so lacquered with sin
it is a wonder God can see within
but he does
He picks us up if we allow
and starts major surgery on all the sin
all the while he works on the heart within
Out of his surgerical hand a miracle happens
and out of the filthy cocoon of sin
comes a beautiful person
God created to walk the earth.
That’s God children
You and Me.
Chickenfarmer, you have listed a long laundry list of how important we are in the eyes of God in your above comment. If I take that list in my pocket today and say all those things to myself I will be dizzy with ‘love potion number 9’ before the setting of the sun.
“I held my nose, I closed my eyes, I took a drink!
I didn’t know if it was day or night.
I started kissing everything in sight.
But when I kissed a cop down on 34th and Vine.
He broke my little bottle of Love Potion number 9”
Now, I like many, have danced the night away rocking with this very popular song sung by The Searchers, Beatles and others. As I read how scattered we that know better are, I think, hum, we take all that love and go and do the wrong thing by not “Being Still” or “… standing still, and seeing the salvation of the LORD..”II Chronicles 20 tells the story of Jehoshaphat king of Judah and will present us all with some invaluable lessons on available help for our scattered acts of service and unfocused minds.
CF, Needles wrote about a song that you all loved, (nd we do too)…”I AM FREE” The CCI band has been rehearsing that song, recently, for the retreat and the Lord spoke this to my heart. ‘Yes, YOU ARE FREE. You are Free NOT to sin. You are FREE not to be encumbered by those things that so “easily trip you up”, as you wrote up above. You are FREE to overcome spiritual obstacles and hindrances. You are Free to Do THE WILL OF the Father. It is for Freedom that Christ has set us FREE. And yes, we are all those things you wrote on your Concerned Persons List. But only if we exercise our freedom to do what the Holy Spirit tells us to do. For if we no longer are focused on HIS WILL then we are no longer exercising our freedom but have gone back into bondage(s) of one sort or another.
Most of us know immediately if we have fallen back. Our peace is gone and our strength is weak. But you have begun a great work as a COME-BACK KID, and I sense excitement in your rediscovered freedom in Christ Jesus. Let us rejoice with you and learn from your brave testimony!!
GOD BLESS CF!!
Thank you Sara for sharing II Chronicles 20 with us. I did see some ‘invaluable lessons’, in particular, two. One was that when they were in danger of war (which can destroy and scatter) their priority was to focus by taking time to inquire of the Lord and seek Him together.
Secondly, as they focused by beginning to sing and praise their Lord, God defended them and helped them by setting ambushes against the enemy.
Be Not Afraid / The Battle is Not Yours..2. Chron. 20: 14 15: “…a Levite of the sons of Asaph, came the Spirit of the LORD in the midst of the congregation;
15: And he said, Hearken ye, all Judah, and ye inhabitants of Jerusalem, and thou king Jehoshaphat, Thus saith the LORD unto you, Be not afraid nor dismayed by reason of this great multitude; for the battle is not yours, but God’s.
AN AGREEMENT, vs. 8-11 “Jehoshaphat reminded the LORD of the agreement He made when king Solomon dedicated the Temple in Jerusalem. The agreement was that God would answer His followers when they cried unto Him in prayer. That agreement still stands; even for us who lift up our hearts in prayer to the King in Jerusalem on high!”
We also find The booty, Joy, Believe in the Lord Your God and peace and rest……
Rena, Sara, MG , Debie and Needles thank you so much for your words of encouragement. There are so many things to distract us and it seems more and more. I was cutting grass the other day and I was listening to the book Daniel. He was such a wise man of God. His focus on God was so strong, he didn’t let anything or anyone distract him. He was a righteous man who was so humble and focused, no one could accuse him of anything except putting God before all others (including the King. )Three times a day he would bow down and call out to God. Not even the lion’s den stopped him. Daniel is an awesome example of a focused child of God. Thank you Liles for your focus and your work for God’s glory.
In response to CF’s comments I would like to address the issue of over-focused…
Nutrition Health Center writes, “Over-focused Attention Deficit Disorder: Obsessive-Compulsive (OCD) ADHD.The problem with this form of Attention Deficit Disorder is not inattention, but over-attention. People with the over-focused form of Attention Deficit Disorder tend to get “stuck” on thoughts or behaviors and they have trouble shifting their attention from thought to thought. This Attention Deficit type is often referred to as Obsessive-Compulsive ADD.
When the Over-focused type is focused on something, they are focused. Because of the over focus, this type often has difficulty seeing other options and is known for their inflexibility.”
CF really gave us the key to focus and over focus with the life of Daniel, “He was such a wise man of God…” Now, do we have our key to focus and use it wisely. Are we often losing our key? Are we leaving our key in the door? Breaking our key in the door? Or, frankly, just can’t find our keys when we need them? Good discourse bloggers.