We are women of faith. We love the Lord. We serve our families. People depend on us.
We ask God for help through hard times and pray for anyone who asks.
Even so, we can let ourselves get scattered with a lot of things. Responsibilities, decisions, concerns, good ideas, runaway thoughts— just to name a few. Our minds, hearts, and schedules get pulled in many directions at once, leaving us overwhelmed and not sure how to get out of the hole of overcommitment we’ve dug.
And that, my friends, leads to a life lacking the peace and joy that’s possible with Jesus.
So how do we move forward, when we’re doing what women of faith do but still feel like we’re all over the place? When more than anything, we want to feel centered, not scattered?
What It Means to Be a Woman of Faith and Focus
In my years as a dancer, I struggled with mastering a move called the triple pirouette. I could land a double turn just fine, but throw one more revolution in there and I’d topple off-center. I even tried spinning faster to make it all the way around, but that didn’t work. The triple pirouette remained a mystery until I learned the secret.
Having a strong core keeps you balanced.
I had tried using every other part of my body to complete the turn while ignoring the most important part— the center. Concentrating on those core muscles helped me make it through that extra turn with confidence.
Our faith is at the core of everything we do. Our faith can be defined as belief and trust in and loyalty to God. Our focus is where we direct our attention or what we concentrate on. By putting those together, we discover what it means to be a woman of faith and focus.
A woman of faith and focus pays close attention to her relationship with God.
Women throughout history have learned to live with steadfast faith and focus. Women like Elizabeth in the Bible. From her story in Luke chapter 1, we can learn to be— not only women of faith— but focused faith.
Who Is Elizabeth in the Bible?
Elizabeth was the mother of John the Baptist, a descendant of Aaron, and cousin to Mary, the mother of Jesus. A wife to a priest named Zechariah and a godly woman, Luke 1:6 describes Elizabeth this way, “…righteous before God, walking blamelessly in all the commandments and ordinances of the Lord.”
Although she couldn’t have children, her husband Zechariah received a message from the angel Gabriel that Elizabeth would conceive in her old age. (Luke 1:11-13)
Elizabeth lived her life for God. Now, here she was— a baby on the way in her senior years and a husband who’d been struck mute because of his unbelief. In this season where she could’ve easily been overwhelmed, she showed extraordinary faith and focus. Let’s look at how Elizabeth responded to her circumstances, and how we can apply that to our lives today:
4 Ways to Have Both Faith and Focus
1. Make space for faith to grow.
I love staying connected. Spending time with friends and family is one of my favorite things. The social part of social media is a blessing for keeping in touch with people across the miles. But when it comes to technology, I’ve discovered the fine line between staying connected and getting distracted.
Quiet time with God should be at the top of our daily priorities. But finding a consistent quiet time is so hard! Elizabeth knew the Lord was doing a new thing in and through her, so she stepped away to focus on him first. Does that mean she neglected her responsibilities? Put life on hold?
As a woman of that time, Elizabeth surely had to tend to life’s daily demands. But she also knew the value of tuning out distractions so that she could tune in to the Holy Spirit.
2. Listen in faith.
No doubt about it. Limiting activities that distract us helps us hear God more clearly. Shortly after her time of “keeping to herself,” Elizabeth received an unexpected visit from her cousin Mary.
Elizabeth was so focused on God at work in her that even from the womb, her baby John responded to Jesus’ presence. When we keep God at the center of each day, we will know it’s him when he speaks. We will recognize his voice.
3. Take a step of faith.
Elizabeth responded to the revelation given to her by the Holy Spirit without delay.
So many times I wonder if I heard God right. I question what I heard. I have doubts about my own ability to follow where he’s leading. Sometimes, I’ll even say I need time to pray about what I sense God speaking to me, but the truth is that I’m stalling because of fear.
Elizabeth’s immediate obedience reminds us, when we’re drawing close to God, we will sense the Holy Spirit’s guidance. Our job is to step out in faith. To trust the One who’s leading us.
4. Voice your faith.
Elizabeth was the first person ever to proclaim that Jesus Christ is Lord. God wants us to use any means available to share his goodness with others. Putting a voice to our own faith is one way to keep our hearts and minds “stayed on Jesus.”
Hope for Women of Faith Who Feel Scattered
Elizabeth encouraged Mary with this truth, and her words offer hope to us as women of faith today:
“Happy is she who believed that the Lord would fulfill the promises he made to her.” (Luke 1:45)
If we’re feeling scattered or pulled in all directions, let’s keep this promise at the core of our being! Let’s focus our attention on our relationship with Jesus first and see how everything else stays centered on him.
If you’ve been a regular here in my community for a while, then you know how much I love exploring stories of women of faith and sharing those lessons with you. This year we’ve had the JOY of walking alongside some amazing women in the Bible! Like this post with a lesson from Huldah, for example. One of my favorites!
I know, I say that about all of them:)
We’ve also learned from Ruth and Naomi what it means to be redeemed. And of course, Rahab. In fact, this quote from the Cinched book fits perfectly with today’s message…
May we remember to focus on good things this week and let go of things that hinder us from moving forward in our faith walk. Blessings to you, dear friend in the faith!