“What Do You Mean, A Vertical Focus?”

And may The Strong Man give you grace in that man’s eyes so that he’ll send back your other brother along with Benjamin. For me, nothing’s left; I’ve lost everything. Genesis 43: 13-14.

Sadly today, for many of we Christ-Followers seeking truth amongst today’s chaos, while being the “quiet in the pews,” Jacob’s words might ring strangely predictive, “For me, nothing’s left; I’ve lost everything.” Shame on us for being such defeatists!

I wonder what those ten men, those grown sons of Jacob, talked about during their journey from Canaan to Egypt? I have an idea it might have been the same things we would have talked about had we been in their sandals. I also believe these men were beginning to be broken. Perhaps they spoke of how much they missed their brother Joseph. With Benjamin now among them, maybe they felt this was a great time to express their sorrow over their past actions and, together sincerely request El Shaddai’s power and protection.

I so want to believe that God was starting to melt their hearts before Him! In fact, that is the beauty of this story as it progresses. We’re led to wonder what exactly they were thinking. We so desperately want to cut to the chase to see the happy ending, but we must wait. Because there is always something to learn along the way, especially today for us.

I actually compare the unrecorded conversations during the ten brother’s journey from Canaan to Egypt, to quite possibly our conversations today while on our spiritual journey from decades of secure abundance  to now witnessing the attempt to either take down or at best, deconstruct western civilization. Its pending uncertainties as they are now being revealed to us, may indeed prove exponentially more traumatic than Joseph’s identity to his ten brothers. Perhaps as with them, we too tend to be negative rather positive when facing such challenges.

We tend to view life horizontally seeking relief and direction among our traditional western cultural sources and our peers rather than seeking our guidance from Almighty God vertically as being the forgiven, transformed, empowered discipling bond servants of Jesus Christ serving as His ambassadors until our death permits retirement. We need some course-correction techniques to break us free from the pervasive destructive narrative in the media.

I can think of at least three methods enabling our transformation to a vertical focus.

First, recognize and admit your negative mentality. So much of the cure is in our confession. Immediate correction begins with honest admission; as Jamie Winship says, “knowing your identity in Christ releases you then to be truth tellers in community.” A paradigm shift!

Second, force a vertical focus until it begins to flow freely. I have never seen a habit just lie down, surrender, and die; we have to make a conscious effort if we hope to break longstanding habits. If we are negative today, chances are very good that when we wake up tomorrow we’re still going to be negative. We must force our vertical focus.

Third, stay open to a new idea for at least five minutes. Don’t try it for an entire day; you might panic. Just rest in your spiritual optimism each day for five minutes at a time. When something new, something unexpected, confronts you, don’t respond with an immediate “Nope! Never!” Wait five minutes. Hold off. Tolerate the possibility for five minutes. You’ll be surprised at the benefits of remaining open.

 Bottom line though, the key to joyful vertical focus is only achieved by being obedient, forgiven, transformed, empowered discipling bond servants of Jesus Christ! Never Settle For Less!

Inspired by the Charles R. Swindoll devotional titled “Great Days with the Great Lives”and edited for our perspective today, by merlin.