Growing up playing sports, I got used to hearing the word “focus.” I think for many people it’s very easy to focus on the physical things in life that are in the “here and now.” How do we focus on the spiritual things though? How do we stay focused on the eternal things in life? I know in this summer season it can be very difficult to stay focused on Jesus. Between summer jobs, internships, summer classes, (even family!) it can feel like we don’t have any time to do anything else. We have to focus on making Jesus a priority in our lives this summer. 

The first thing that comes to my mind when I think of the word “focus” is “mentality.” My mind is what helps control my focus. Colossians 3:2 says:

“Set your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on earth.” 

Let’s think about the first word in that verse; “set.” The connotation of that word brings precedence to this verse that we are to purposefully make it a priority to set or “focus” our minds on Jesus.  It’s not something that just automatically happens. Sometimes you might have to set your alarm clock to wake up 15 minutes earlier, so you can spend 15 extra minutes with Him before you go to work. Sometimes you might just start praying in the middle of class or wherever you’re at. To stay focused, we’re going to have to start doing things intentionally! 

I think a lot of times our problem with staying focused lies with where our heart is. I’ve struggled with the thought of this many times, but too many times we get caught up with the treasures of this world (Luke 12:34). I mean, that’s the whole reason we go to college right? To get a job, make money, buy a car, and get a dog? Please don’t misunderstand me, those are not bad things. I just believe that God has so much more for our lives than living a materialistic lifestyle. Why would we want to live up to the status quo/standards of a society that rebukes and denies the very existence of our savior? At this point you’re probably wondering, “What does this have to do with staying focused on Jesus this summer?” I’m glad you asked. Matthew 6:33 says:

“But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.”

In all the chaos, and in all the hoopla of summer, we have to seek first the things that God has for us, and everything else will fall into place as God would have it (which might not always be necessarily how we want it). This includes summer jobs, summer classes, internships, etc. Again when he uses the word “seek”; that’s something we have to do intentionally. I’ve never met someone who accidentally searched for something. Then he uses the word “first.” This implies that it should be the number one item on our priority list. Think about it. He could have just said “Seek me and all these things will be added to you,” but he said “Seek first.” By purposefully adding the word first, it implies that this should be our numero uno priority. The two main things to think about when it comes to staying focused this summer is “intentionality” and “priority.” Are we intentionally making time for Jesus because he’s our number one priority?  I know for me personally this question hits like a skillet to the face because it’s a serious reality check. Keep in mind; your priorities typically lie where your heart does. 

Being an engineering student, physics is my favorite subject. One of my favorite topics in physics is momentum. I love riding roller coasters, and momentum plays a key role in the process of how roller coasters work.  Typically you see the biggest hill on a coaster at the beginning of the ride. That’s because once the cart gets over that first hill, the momentum that you gain as gravity pulls you down the hill will carry you the rest of the ride. Think of this summer as a spiritual hill. It’s not always easy getting up the hill, and sometimes you need help from some chains to pull you up. Once we’re over the hill, it can give us the momentum to carry us into and through the fall semester. 

Let me leave you with this. Sharks have to constantly move forward in order to breathe and stay alive. Even while they sleep, they are moving forward. If they stop moving, or even move backwards, they will stop breathing and die. We have to keep moving forward like the sharks, and not be still in our faith or even look back (Proverbs 4:25). This requires us to stay focused!

Be Blessed!

John Sidwell, Student Leader for Impact Christian Fellowship at IUPUI

How easy is it for us to want to plan our lives? Whether you are a person who neatly organizes every part of their life (like me), or someone who wakes up every morning with no clue what they are doing that day, there is some part of all of us that has an idea of how things should be. Even though we are college students and you could say that you have no idea what you’re doing with your life, I would argue that you probably have a lot more planned than you realize. There is no shame in it. It’s part of being human to want life to go a certain way.

But what happens when the plan falls away? What happens when your entire focus becomes switched? I’m not talking about your lunch plans changing at the last second, or the cashier accidentally giving you the wrong amount of change at the checkout. I’m talking about when your world gets so shaken up that each step into the future is blurry and misguided; when you have no sense of direction.

Maybe your car gets totaled and you now have no way to get yourself to school or work. Maybe after paying for a year or two of school, you realize that you have no idea what you want to do anymore, and every major feels like the wrong one. Maybe that two year relationship just ended, throwing us into a tailspin when our future plans of happiness crash and burn. Maybe there’s a sickness or death of a loved one, and now you’re wrestling with a burden that you weren’t ready to carry. From the lowest to the highest end of the spectrum, it’s happened to all of us. However, what we choose to do and who we choose to be in this chaos and fallout defines who we are in Christ.

When the world seems blurry, Jesus remains as clear as ever if you choose to search for him. Lately, God has been consistently reminding me of this fact through a passage that I heard over and over again when I went to Zambia on a mission trip last summer:

Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways submit to him, and he will make your paths straight. - Proverbs 3:5-6 (NIV)

I think this passage relates so well to where we are right now as college students, and more specifically, where we are in this summer. Many of us are working full time, volunteering, participating in internships and research, studying abroad, traveling, and so much more. Even more of us have just come out of a crazy spring semester that we didn’t think we would get out of alive, either for academic reasons, personal reasons, or a mix of both. The summer that we thought was going to be a relaxing break is becoming more hectic than we realized. The passage above begs us to look for Jesus in the chaos. It doesn’t tell us to find a solution all by ourselves. It doesn’t say to work ourselves to death trying to figure it all out. It tells us to be patient and be faithful in our unstoppable God.

When life becomes too crazy and hectic to handle, we can do one of three things. We can find more strength to carry it, we can find someone to help us carry it, or we can let it crush us. If we need more strength, God asks us to pray and read his word (consistently). If we need help with what life has thrown at us, God gives us fellowship in the form of Bible studies, life groups, and churches. We aren’t alone, and we never were.

Something that I strive for, and that I hope all of you strive for this summer is to bring Jesus back into focus, in whatever form that may take. This summer is the time to either reclaim your faith or to make it stronger than it ever was. For me, I have a long road back to where I was at the start of this school year. Luckily, I have a church and friends that love me, and I have God’s Word that continues to teach me every day. All we have to do is set our hearts on things above. In a blurry world, Jesus can make things clearer than we ever thought possible.

Brad Loeffler, Member of Impact Christian Fellowship at IUPUI