The Believer’s Responsibility: Freedom Focus, Not Failure Focus
My dad put me in the driver’s seat of our 1984 Crown Victoria LTD Station Wagon, called the Country Squire... with woodgrain stickers, wire wheels, and whitewall tires. What a sweet ride.
All six members of our family were in the car, so, as a sixteen-year-old, their lives were in my hands. Whoa. That’s quite a responsibility. I had never driven on the highway before, so this was a first for all of us.
I was merging from the on-ramp and Dad encouraged me to look over my shoulder so that I could double-check my blind spot. What I didn’t consider was Newton’s third law which says that every action has an equal and opposite reaction.
So, when I turned to the left, my right arm moved to the right. The problem was that I was still holding the steering wheel with that hand! Thankfully, Dad was paying attention and prevented me from taking a hard right into the guard rail!
When we are driving, we know we must stay focused on the road. Even when we make a quick check of our blind spot, we make sure to stay pointed straight ahead. If we make too quick of a turn, or simply lose focus for a second, the unintended consequences could be disastrous.
Scripture tells us that the direction of our spiritual focus is also of critical importance.
The Apostle Paul wrote, “Since, then, you have been raised with Christ, set your hearts on things above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things. For you died, and your life is now hidden with Christ in God.” (Colossians 3:1-3, NIV)
When I became a believer, I didn’t understand this principle. So, when I committed a sin, I unintentionally focused on my failure. I tried overcoming the sin in my own strength. I thought of ways that I could avoid it, how bad the sin was, and how dishonoring it was to God. The result? Negative emotions kept crashing over me and weighing me down. I knew that I had responsibility in the situation, so I tried harder. Then, when I failed and sinned again, the impact was more intense. I was so focused on my failure that I kept veering off course and colliding with the hard reality of sin and its negative effects. It was a nasty cycle that I wouldn’t wish on anyone.
But then I learned how to have a freedom focus.
I chose to believe what God said was true about me. As Colossians says, I have “died, and my life is now hidden with Christ in God!” When I responded to God and trusted in what Jesus Christ accomplished through his death and resurrection, my old nature died. In return, I was given life in Christ! What I learned is that sin, death, and the devil no longer have power over me as I submit to God. To be clear, this new life in Christ did not eliminate the presence of sin or completely erase old patterns of behavior and thought (the flesh). But now, in Christ, I have the ability to overcome my old sin cycle—through the Holy Spirit’s power and faith in the accomplished work of Christ.
So, I learned to set my heart and mind on Christ and the things above. This means that when I sin, I don’t focus on my failure. Yes, I still confess and repent, but then I choose to focus on who Jesus is, what He has accomplished through his death and resurrection, and recall the truth of who He has made me to be as a new creation in Christ. I focus on His victory which He has given me (1 Corinthians 15:57). I focus on the truth that I can grow and overcome sin with the same power that raised Jesus from the dead (Ephesians 1:17-21)! I focus on the truth that “where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom” (2 Cor. 3:17, NIV).
Dear Saints, God didn’t tell us to try hard not to gratify the desire of the flesh so we can be filled with the Spirit. He said, “walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh” (Galatians 5:16, ESV). We tend to move toward that which we focus upon. Where is your focus—on your sin, or on the truth of who you are in Christ and the power available to you by His Spirit?
As I’ve learned in both driving and in my own spiritual life, the direction of our focus can have a profound impact on our lives. Adopt a freedom focus today!
Neil T. Anderson is the founder of Freedom in Christ Ministries. He began the ministry in 1989 and continues to spread the message of freedom to this day.