From The Pastor’s Pen – By Brian Horrobin
We look at people in the sporting world or entertainment business who are a cut above the rest and think of them as all stars.
However, is that really true?
Do they just have an extra something that the rest of their peers lack, or is there something else that may be driving their success?
I knew a young lady a number of years ago who was preparing hard for an intense piano recital.
Several weeks before the big night she suffered an accident in her home and broke her right hand, which was her dominant hand.
Instead of cancelling the upcoming performance she instead took it upon herself to learn several difficult pieces that could be played with only one hand, her left hand, which was also her weaker hand.
On the night of the recital she sat down to play and what flowed forth from that piano was pure musical art!
The performance was flawless but it had not come easily.
She had worked upwards of eight hours per day in those weeks leading up to the recital and it was her dedicated focus that was the difference, not raw talent.
Her real talent was her ability to stay focused.
We need to do the same for the spiritual side of life, too.
The apostle Paul likened the fruits of dedicated focus to the preparation an athlete puts forth in training for an athletic contest.
Here is what he said in 1 Corinthians 9:24-27: “Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one gets the prize? Run in such a way as to get the prize. Everyone who competes in the games goes into strict training. They do it to get a crown that will not last; but we do it to get a crown that will last forever. Therefore I do not run like a man running aimlessly; I do not fight like a man beating the air. No, I beat my body and make it my slave so that after I have preached to others, I myself will not be disqualified for the prize.”
Let’s ask God this week about where we need a more dedicated focus in our service to Him.
