Looking back and then looking forward

This last Monday we had a prayer and worship night. We have what we call "the hot seat" where anyone who wants personal prayer for specific things, or even just wants to hear from the Lord will sit in the middle and everyone gathers around them. I had to get to bed early that night due to some early scheduling at work the next morning so they prayed over me first.

I bowed my head and just waited in expectation to hear what the Holly Spirit had for me. When I looked up everyone was looking at me waiting for me to tell them what to pray for. ;-) I just stated that I want to be more focused on my time of worship/prayer/meditation on the Lord because I have felt for a while now that God was telling me, "Annjeri, if you would just focus on me, spend time with me, then all of the things you are worried about and feeling anxious about will come into alignment with ME."

So, we started praying and a friend of mine received this word picture from the Lord which I find interesting because I actually blogged about this very same thing which you can find at the bottom of this post.

Anyway, the word was about how God places blinders on horses to keep them focused on their goal. Not looking from side to side and comparing myself to others, but focus on what He has for me at this moment. I SOOOOOO needed this reminder. ;-)

For me, I feel like the Lord is saying to not worry about tomorrow but focus on this moment with Him. Stop being anxious on whether or not something is going to happen, but just seek His face and find out what He wants; find out what is important to Him. Getting my focus back on the right track is of the utmost importance. Nothing else stands the chance when it comes to Him.

I find myself desperately wanting things like marriage/true love/becoming a parent/being thin/getting out of debt....... You name it. I know we all struggle with things in life and I know they may be the same or different but it's still hard to just wait. I feel that the only thing that truly works is God. HE WORKS. He is the All Knowing, All Powerful, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Counselor, Prince of Peace, Great Warrior, The Good Shepherd... I could go on and on and on.

The flesh can be so week but God IS so Great. He surpasses everything that we need here on earth. Coming to terms with that is sometimes hard. We want something we feel we need to go and get/do it ourselves. Trust is a major issue here. Can we trust God to do what He promised? Can we actually lean on Him and know that we will not fall? Can we dive into His depths and not drown? Trust, Trust, Trust, Trust.

Glory Glory Glory Glory Glory Glory Glory!!!!!!!

Father God, I not only pray for myself, but others who will read this post and are struggling with life. I pray that you will stir up the pot enough for us to realize the chaos and seek Your face instead. You are the Master Communicator here. You speak to us and bring fulfillment to our lives. You bring healing to our hearts. God, your word said that if we seek You we will find You. Even in the darkest places we will find You. Wrap us tight Father and show us the right direction. Amen.

Here is the blog post I was telling you about. I posted it on January 14, 2011. My friend who gave me this word picture actually missed that post so she was unaware how much this word meant to me.

Have you ever wondered what the purpose of horse blinders were for? Well, I have to admit I looked up the official reason why we use them. You’re welcome. ;-)

Blinders, also known as blinkers or winkers, are a piece of horse tack that restricts the horse's vision to the rear and, in some cases, to the side. Many racehorse trainers believe these keep the horse focused on what is in front of him, encouraging him to pay attention to the race rather than other distractions.

It's interesting how we walk through life with certain blinders on. In many cases, someone might have a blinder to keep them focused on a specific goal, and others might have them on because they just haven't dealt with some issue in life and can't seem to see "outside the box" if you will.

God showed me this analogy of how humans tend to deal with things. We walk through life with a certain "winker" on that makes us not see the whole picture, and then there comes a moment in time where God pulls it off and all of the sudden we see the real world. You know what I am talking about? Reality hits us. WOW!--and we think, "Was I really acting like that?" or "Why did I think that way all this time?".

There should be an even balance on how focused we are on certain things in our lives. To put a "blinker" on should mean complete focus on something that we need to correct, or maybe it's just something we want to accomplish. When they put these things on horses it was for a single purpose--to not get distracted and to finish the race. If we decide to guard our eyes and minds from reality, and that is solely the purpose of putting on a "blinder" then we are not only doing ourselves an injustice, but God and others around us. God wants us to be free to receive his healing and possibly move onto a different, healthier path. If we had our eyes blocked from Him (and just focused on our internal torments) then we would never see any other possibility he would have for us.

I know for myself I tend to do this as well. I focus way too much sometimes on the negative things in life and have a difficult time seeing the good things happening in my life. I certainly don't want to walk around like that. I want to see everything that God has for me--it might be things I had to learn from the past (looking backwards), or seeing the good things around me (looking side to side), or just staying focused on the goals that He has for me (looking forward).

So, what Blinders, Blinkers or Winkers are you wearing today? Are they there for self-protection, or are they there to focus on a goal? How has God been speaking to YOU lately?

Jeremiah 29:10-14
This is what the LORD says: “When seventy years are completed for Babylon, I will come to you and fulfill my good promise to bring you back to this place. 11 For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the LORD, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. 12 Then you will call on me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you. 13 You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart. 14 I will be found by you,” declares the LORD, “and will bring you back from captivity. I will gather you from all the nations and places where I have banished you,” declares the LORD, “and will bring you back to the place from which I carried you into exile.”