Focus on what you have.

We live in a world of great excess. We have so much that we do not need. My question is, what do we focus on? How much do we focus on what we want rather than what we have? How much of our lives are run by “more, more, more”? I was sitting one day thinking, and I believe God downloaded something into my heart. That was the verse, “He who has will be given more, and he who does not have, even what he has will be taken away from him.” I wondered about that verse, and decided to look it up. It actually occurs five times in the New Testament in three different contexts. It’s not just something that Jesus stated once. It is something that he used frequently in his teachings. So why? What is the significance of it? Why was it so important to Jesus?

I was pondering this for a time, and believe I got a revelation on it. It is about what we focus on! Are we focusing on what we have, or on that which we do not have? If we are focusing on that which we have, the gifts God has given us, we will use them, and in the using we are given more. But if we are only spending our time looking at those things in which we lack in our lives, the things where we don’t have, we forget to focus on those gifts he has given us, and in so doing they are taken away.

Let me explain it this way. If I have a friend who is deeply struggling with something, I can look at her situation and say “I just don’t know what to do”, and in that helplessness I do nothing. Or I can look at her situation and say “There are some things that I can do”. I focus on that which I can do, even if it looks like it is something really small, and in so doing, I am given more that I can do. I can make a greater impact then I even imagined. It’s not in the big things that we do in life; it is about those little things. So if we focus on those little things that we can do, and do them, the big things will be accomplished. If we focus on our lack, we will not do those little things, and the big things never come to pass. Don’t look at a situation and think it is too big; look at a situation and think “What is there that I CAN do in this situation”, and then go and do that!

This principle applies to many areas of our lives, not just in situations. What about our relationship with God? I have always struggled with looking at that which I do not have. I always want more. But what if I looked at those things that I do have; those things that God has blessed me with, and was thankful for them? I started making an effort to do that, and the result has been astounding! First of all, I feel thankful because God has given me so incredibly much, and secondly, God has been pouring himself out more and more into me as I give that thanksgiving. He truly is giving me more, as I’m looking at that which I do have.

I have found this to be a powerful principle in my life, and I wanted to share it to inspire you as well! Focus on what you have, God WILL give you more. Focus on what you can do, that is what builds your faith! Don’t focus on your lack, that kills faith.