Three Simple Steps to Shift our Focus and Hope in God
You’ve heard the phrase “God works in mysterious ways.” That happens to me in my writing. Last week I wrote a blog I never intended because my thoughts were all jumbled on the blog I had planned to write. I sat down to write this week’s blog and quickly glanced over the notes I had written for the previous week’s blog. For whatever reason, God generously connected dots for me, and I began to write.
It fascinates me that God is so intricately involved in my seemingly insignificant life. And yet that is the wonder of God isn’t it? He loves us so deeply, He invests in us so willingly, and leads us so faithfully.
Setting our Hope
This month we’ve been talking about making 2023 the Year of the Word, focusing on getting to know Christ over improving ourselves. On January 9, I posted a blog where we discussed four activities you can plan into your schedule. The third of the four activities was setting our hope in The Word.
Sometimes this concept is tough to explain. Setting one’s hope is not a tangible action. First of all, let me remind you of what hope is. Hope is confidently believing what you desire will happen. It’s more than wishful thinking, it is an expectation.
Hope in Jesus
When we set our hope in The Word, Jesus Christ, we expect Him to be who He claims to be. We also expect Him to show up in our lives. We pray with the expectation that Christ will move on our behalf. We worship with the expectation that we will see the glory of God revealed. Moreover, we expect our lives to be different and better, because of Jesus.
We struggle at times because we don’t attain the picture of what we think life should be. As a result, we often expect God to adapt to what we want. However, that has never been God’s intention. We have hope because God wants to provide for us the life He knows is best, a life lived in the glory of His presence.
Focus on the Spiritual World
A few verses in 1 Timothy 6 opened my mind to this idea: If our hope is in God, our focus shifts from this world to the spiritual world. We give up seeking to make our life the ideal picture and seek to enjoy what God would have us enjoy.
Paul is writing to Timothy and giving him wisdom as he leads others. The verses that challenged my thinking are specifically written to “those who are rich in the present world.” (I Timothy 6:17) Nevertheless, the concept of placing one’s hope in God applies to everyone.
We all have that “thing” in life we tend to rely on. Wealthy people obviously rely on their money to get them out of trouble or make their life more comfortable. Physically strong people rely on their strength to push themselves through difficult circumstances, or enable them to succeed. Verbal people rely on talking their way in or out of things, manipulating people and circumstances as they manipulate words. Intelligent people rely on their ability to always figure things out.
For each of us we tend to rely on the gifts and/or abilities we have. We see ourselves as independent, without the need for anyone else. Additionally, our culture frowns upon asking for help or admitting we are incapable of managing. God’s Word challenges us to live differently.
“Instruct those who are rich in the present age not to be arrogant or to set their hope on the uncertainty of wealth, but on God, who richly provides us with all things to enjoy. Instruct them to do what is good, to be rich in good works, to be generous and willing to share, storing up treasure for themselves as a good foundation for the coming age, so that they may take hold of what is truly life.”
To state it simply, Paul instructs his readers to rely on God. Why? Because God “richly provides us with all things to enjoy.” Paul reminds us God can be trusted. Even so, how do we adjust our point of view away from our self-reliant tendencies? Paul gives us three simple action points so we can “take hold of what is truly life.”
Be Humble
First, Paul tells us to not be arrogant (1 Timothy 6:17). If we aren’t arrogant, than we are humble. We have an honest view of our abilities and our need for God. Being humble doesn’t mean we aren’t confident or self-assured. It means we recognize our gifts and abilities are given by God. It also means we are fully aware that God is the one who is sovereign and able to do the impossible, while we are not.
Enjoy What God Provides
Second, Paul tells us we are to enjoy what God provides. Sometimes that is difficult because we perceive He isn’t giving us what we want. We begin to think God doesn’t really care about us. For this reason, we must grasp the truth that the Bible is the story of God’s intricate plan to save us after man made the choice to disobey. God is always moving and reaching out to us so we will intimately know His deep love for us. God’s plan is to restore us and re-establish the relationship He created us to have with Him.
Did you notice the statement ‘God richly provides with all things to enjoy’ can be looked at two different ways? We can interpret the statement to mean everything we enjoy God has generously provided. No matter what we have, we can trace it back to the hand of God.
I paid for my car, but God gave me the skills and ability to work, which provided the money for each payment I made. I make cards with rubber stamps, but God created the materials I use, and He gave me the ability to merge color and pattern and form.
We can also interpret the statement to mean everything God provides we are to enjoy. This concept is sometimes a little harder to agree with. We certainly enjoy things like sunshine, the beauty of the ocean, the scent of flowers, and the sound of rain. Yet we complain about too much heat, experiencing seasickness, allergies, and thunderstorms.
Trace How God is Providing Satisfaction
The word enjoy means to take pleasure in something. It also means to have and use something with satisfaction. Just like we can trace what we have back to the hand of God, we must trace how God is moving to provide us the satisfaction that brings about true life.
For example, I don’t enjoy working out, but I do enjoy being able to move comfortably, going on hikes in the summer and being able to lift and move things on my own. I don’t enjoy getting up early to go to work, but I do enjoy a job completed and the satisfaction of doing something well.
We can set our hope in God because He aims to satisfy our deepest longings and needs. Undoubtedly, we can expect Him to provide, although we may need to adjust what we identify as our longings and needs. We need to get our eyes off this world and learn to focus on God’s world.
Third, Paul tells us to look upward and outward. In verse 18, Paul tells his reader to do what is good. The Greek word used for good can also be translated right. In other words, Paul is telling us to be people of righteousness. The only way we know how to live rightly is by listening to the Spirit and following the example Jesus gave us.
Then Paul states to be rich in good works, be generous and share. In other words, think of others beyond yourself. Paul knows our natural bent toward selfishness and that hinders our ability to see what God is providing.
A Circular Growth Pattern
These three actions are best lived out when we learn to adjust our point of view. In addition, these three actions enable us to shift from seeing things only from this worlds’ view so that we can see life from God’s point of view. It’s a growth process.
God has true life for us. He is generous and will satisfy us with what we really need. Seeing ourselves with true humility, seeking to identify how God is providing for us, and taking the focus off our selfish wants trains us to enjoy what God enjoys. Our focus shifts from this life to God’s ideal life, and we learn to live in hope.
