Focused Life

Scripture Passage

Matthew 6:25-34

²⁵“Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothes? ²⁶Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? ²⁷Can any one of you by worrying add a single hour to your life?

²⁸“And why do you worry about clothes? See how the flowers of the field grow. They do not labor or spin. ²⁹Yet I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these. ³⁰If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, will he not much more clothe you-you of little faith? ³¹So do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ ³²For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. ³³But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. ³⁴Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.

Sermon Script

SCATTERED. I think that’s the word that best describes our life. We live a scattered life. We often feel all over the place. We feel distracted and restless. We feel unstable, not grounded. This causes a tremendous amount of anxiety within us.

Why do we live such a scattered life? Why do we get so easily distracted? Why do we often feel so tired and unmotivated? Why are we always so anxious and worried?

It’s because we don’t know what our PRIORITIES are. I don’t mean the ‘tasks’ we have to get done. We don’t know what’s truly IMPORTANT. Some of us don’t have any DREAMS or VISIONS for our life. We don’t know what we are PASSIONATE about. We don’t know what MOVES and STIRS our hearts. Maybe we do. We may have lost sight of it or buried it deep within ourselves.

When we lose sight of what is important in life, we lose focus. When we lose our focus, we become scattered. Scattered life is a life without focus. When we lose sight of greater and more beautiful things of life, we begin to fixate on the smaller things. We confuse our life for those things. We forget that our life is MORE THAN those things. Isn’t that what Jesus said?

…Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothes?

Matthew 6:25

Food and clothes are important. They are essential to our life. Getting good grades and doing well in school is important. Playing games, hanging out, and having fun is important. But life is not just about those things. Life is more than those things.

Today’s passage seems to be about how we shouldn’t worry. Jesus says, “Do not worry about your life.” But we know well from our experience that telling ourselves not to worry only makes us worry more. I’m sure Jesus knew that very well too.

When we read the whole passage, we can see that Jesus is pointing to the SOURCE of our worries and anxiety. We don’t eliminate our worries by trying to get rid of them. We overcome our worries by focusing on what’s important. When we live a focused life, worries lose their power over us.

I had one question that guided me throughout my life. That was, “What do I LOVE?” This came before “What do I want to DO?” I had no idea at first. But whatever it was, I knew it had to be MEANINGFUL to me. It wasn’t going to be based on what most people did, or what made perfect sense. I searched, and kept on searching. The answer to the question changed throughout my life. At first, I realized I loved to CREATE. That led me to the arts. But the question always pushed me in a certain direction. It gave my life a FOCUS. It helped me overcome whatever worries I had along the way. As I went on, God revealed more of my desire to me. I came to realize that my deepest desire was to HELP OTHERS. That eventually led me to where I am now. God showed me what is truly important in life.

My prayer is that you will discover that important thing in your life. Your love doesn’t have to translate into a career. But you have to find your own path. I believe that as long as you have the desire, you can do it. Start now.

Entrust all your worries over the smaller things to God. That is the first step to living a FOCUSED LIFE. When we are able to let them go, we can direct our energy and attention to what is more important. We can GO BEYOND ourselves and our immediate needs. You are more precious to God than the birds of the air. We need to believe that God will take care of all our needs.

So do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them.

Matthew 6:31, 32

God has blessed you with this life. Your life is meant to be a gift, not a burden. Do you want to spend your whole life worrying? Or do you want to live it to the fullest, in spite of your worries?

But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.

Matthew 6:33

Ask God to show you the way. Ask God to reveal to you what you need to see. Be patient. Don’t give up, but keep on seeking. Try new things and explore. God will answer. You will find your desire, like a treasure hidden in a field. You will find your focus. The worries of your life will fade away.