FOCUS: Trusting the Inner Compass

by Pastor Gina Johnson

So when I was young, I have this very faint memory of packing a little pink suitcase and going out the back door because I was going to run away. Now I'll tell you, I can't remember what I was going to run away about, but I know that, I made it down the way and further away and it was warm and I didn't have anything to eat or drink. So, by time I circled back around the block to the front of my house, my efforts to run away, you know, they didn't work out.

Something wasn't quite aligned in the direction that I was seeking. And it was humorous because no one knew that I was going to run away. So, you know, it was like my moment of fame and glory. And thankfully something clicked and brought me back home. Maybe it was hunger. Maybe it was a divine message. I was not much shorter than I am now. But the point is I didn't make it very far.

It's funny because there was a point in life where Isabella would tell us that she was going to run away. And we would say, “Well, go ahead. You go ahead. Do you want us to help you get ready to run away?” And it's funny because as she sat in those feelings, again, and she would say, “Well, I'm not going to run away this time.” Okay, okay, that's perfect.

Maybe some of you can relate to that as a time where you thought, “I just need to break out of this situation.” But something told you, “This doesn't align with who I am. This doesn't align with what's going on.”

Or what about those times where you've driven somewhere that's always been familiar, but for some reason this time as you're driving, you're like, you know, something's a little off here. I have that sometimes when I return to Sedalia. I lived there a little over seven years. And when I'm in Sedalia, sometimes it takes me a minute to get back on the right path, to get to that spot that I used to go to all the time.

Because as I'm driving, something doesn't line up. “No, that's not where I should have turned. I should have turned back there.” And I have to ask myself, “Am I going to now navigate a different way with what I know? Or am I going to go back to that turn that brings me back to a place of alignment?” See, it's very easy to let our inner compass get a little skewed, to let our inner compass be drowned out by the noise around us. And then what happens is we can't keep our focus steady.

We can't necessarily reach the destination, move towards the things that we're hoping towards because we're just out of alignment. It's like waking up in the morning and just determining right away, “Oh, this isn't going to be a good day.” Trust me, that is not your inner compass. That is the noise. That is the task. That is the things pulling at you that you're just starting off on that wrong direction. And I use the word wrong very loosely.

See, focus isn't always about blocking out all the noise as much as it is tuning into what is seeking you and what you are seeking. I guarantee you that amidst everything else going on in your life, your highest good, the I Am is always seeking you. And if you are true to your truest self, you are always seeking that higher connection with the I Am. It's really easy to let other things get in the way and block your focus. So today, I want to break down that word focus.

We're going to have a few different scriptures, and we're going to look at ways that we can keep the noise down and the focus up. We're going to look at what you do to regain your focus when people, activities, and even your own thoughts, one of the greatest sabotagers that we have, our own thoughts, takes us off course.

So, with the F, fix your eyes forward.

One of the things that I got from my mentor that I've said numerous times is that if you drive forward looking in the rearview mirror, your past is going to come crashing into your future. Another one I think about is sometimes when I'm driving in my vehicle and I get looking at what's around me, looking sideways as opposed to looking straight. It's amazing how fast you start to veer over to one side or the other. My moment of shame, my car accident, was because I was looking off to the side at my phone, and I was looking for my sunglasses. I don't know how long it took, because I was looking side to side instead of looking up and forward, but before I knew what was happening, I hit a guardrail.

It's amazing what happens when we spend time looking sideways. Not only do we drift, our vision drifts, our focus drifts. And sometimes we're so focused on what's going on in other people's lanes and other people's lives that we lose what's going on in our own space.

You guys know racehorses? I don’t, but honestly, I've been in a community where some people were into that, and that was great. And I've seen it on movies. But you know, one thing that I recognize is they have those blinders on, and those blinders are to give them focus. Because the slightest distraction off to the left or off to the right can end the whole race, can change everything.

The question is, what spiritual blinders do we need to put on? And not to blind us to Spirit, but to keep us focused in on Spirit.

Some of us need to identify what those blinders are. What are the things that we can put in place? So no matter what is going on here, as enticing and tempting as it may be, or what is going on here that may cause us to covet and wish that we had that and think, “Oh, the grass must be greener.” What can we do? What can we put in place to keep our focus forward?

I think for me, and it's very interesting. So last week, my friend Roary raised his hand and praised Sunday school. Okay, well, I have a confession. I've been to Sunday school. I've been here about two and a half years, and maybe I've been there half a dozen times. And I like going. I enjoy the conversation. That Sunday school class, man, they explore, they talk, they share, they laugh. It goes everywhere and nowhere in a beautiful way. I don't know how to explain that, but it's beautiful. It's exactly what it needs to be.

And sometimes I think, “Gosh, I don't know if I want to go in there because I don't want all that, like, ‘Well, what do you think, Gina? Well, what does the pastor think?’” I've experienced that before. But I thought after last Sunday, I was like, “You know, I'm going to make sure to get in the building early enough to knock everything out so I can go to Sunday school.”

And the divine synchronicities, the divine things that were said, were wonderful. We were just talking on top of each other in a beautiful way. Barb and Linda and Jennie and Terry and myself, and we were exchanging. And as one would say a word, another one was thinking the word. It was so beautiful. And the subject came up of anchors. That's what these blinders are.

What are your anchors? What are the things that you use when you face moments of uncertainty, when you face moments of temptation, when you face moments of chaos? What anchors do you use to keep you in place? I know for me, it's studying. It's a lot of studying. When I am feeling out of sorts about something, then I go and I study. What was this like before? What was this like for other people in history? What are some of the things that are being done today? How can I learn from others in the paths they've walked?

Another one for many of you, I believe, is prayer. For some of you, it's meditation. For others, it's reading. And then what I hear and what I heard in that Sunday school is that church is that anchor. Church is a beautiful anchor. And when we can't be in the physical church, remembering that we are the church.

We can offer people faith in a place to lock in. We can help be spiritual blinders. Sometimes they come in books. Sometimes they come in teachings. Sometimes they come in experiences. But a lot of times you can find an anchor in a person.

I know when I look at a particular row of ladies on a Sunday morning, I bet some of their best anchors were sitting beside them. And then as I hear about celebrations of marriage, I bet there's an anchor right beside you. That's one thing to think about is if you're going to fix your eyes forward, what do you need to place there to keep that fix?

My question for you is, what is distracting your gaze? What is pulling you off to this side or off to that side? What is pulling you back instead of keeping your eyes fixed forward?

The O. The O is own your yes or no.

And in Matthew 5:37, it says, “Let your yes be yes and your no, no.” So focus isn't always about what you're saying yes to, but the commitment you make in saying that yes. Because sometimes when we overly focus on what we just agreed to, we second guess ourselves.

Did I really just say yes to that? And then we take the “that” and we blow it up, whatever your “that” is. Well, it's interesting because when you say yes and you start second guessing, then you're not honoring your commitment. There was a moment when the Spirit moved in you, or maybe it was pressure or guilt or whatever it was, but there was something in that moment that drew you to connecting.

Let your yes be yes and be proud of that yes. And recognize that just because you said yes, that not every day is sunshine. It was raining last Sunday and I asked the people sitting in the sanctuary, “How many of you knew you were going to church this morning?” They all raised their hands.

Then I asked, “And how many people sitting here when the sky looked cloudy and the rain was coming in, changed their mind? Well, none of you because you're all sitting here, and just like those who decided to join us online, you know, here you are.” That's one of those interesting things that it would have been easy to step outside and say, “Ah, it's kind of gloomy, maybe not.” But they made that yes to be there.

And that's a small scale, but actually in this time and place, it was a big deal to see them all there. It was a big deal to see their “yes.” It's a big deal to see your “yes” when you invite a friend to church. It's a big deal. So, think about that as you look at the commitments in your life. Let your yes be yes and see it through a joyful expectation. Even if along the way you hit bumps in the road, you hit roadblocks, you fall short in some way, get back up and honor that yes.

But now let's flip that coin over. Honor your denial as well. Honor your no. If you say no to something, do not let guilt or shame drag you back into it.

You know, I've told you all about M&M. That's what I tell my kids. Always check your M&M's. And those M&M's are your motive and your moderation. If your motive is in the right place, aligned with Spirit, and the way in which you're going about it, you're not rushing, you're not dragging your feet, you're doing it at just the right pace, then it's okay to say no. It's okay when someone asks something of you, if something's calling to you, it's okay to just say no. You don't even have to list all the reasons you're saying no. When your no is what feels right to you, honor that.

Do you all remember as Jesus walked through the crowds, the amount of people that were calling out to him? And there were some he paused to say yes to, and there were some just by walking by, they may have heard a no.

Sometimes your no isn't actually a no, it's just, that's not for me. You know, there are many moments where Jesus passed through a situation where he did his work with his presence, he did his work with his teaching, and it may not have been time for him to have a one-on-one. Think about in the morning as he said yes to solitude and silence and prayer, contemplation, and just being at one with the Father. And as he was saying yes to that, he was saying no to all of the noise. He was saying no to being with people so he could take time to be with himself.

Let your yes be yes and your no be no.

And sometimes your no will come around to being a yes again, and you just need to let that fall as it falls. It's not something you have to look for. It's not like you have to say, “Well if I say no, maybe I'll do it next year.” That's wonderful to say, but don't give out that invitation if that's not what you're really wanting. Just say no, and trust if you're supposed to come back into it, if it's what your highest self is calling you to do, then you will.

Our Finance Chair, Coby, has been great example. I had no idea he was going to step back into stewardship and finance. I felt like his no was solid, and it didn't even come with tons of explanations. It was beautiful. It was a spiritual no where he was at, and then I got to see his yes, which has turned into multiple yeses to other things that he wasn't anticipating. And I know all of you can relate to this experience, so let your yes be yes and your no be no.

And I want you, if you would so like to, sit for a moment and find the things in your life that your yes is a yes or your no is a no because of guilt, and then do yourself a favor and work towards letting those go. Because anything that is being led by guilt or fear or doubt or worry is not being led by the Spirit.

The C of focus is clearing the clutter.

This is something that we know can easily distract our focus. Hebrews 12:1 says, “Throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles.” As I talked about last week, sin, I see it as separation.

And again, in Sunday school this last week, we were learning that there is no separation from Christ Jesus, who is God. There is no separation, not in life, not in death, not in powers, not in principalities. There is no separation. So, when it says throw off everything that hinders, you know what hinders you. You know those moments of discomfort where you wonder, “Why am I still doing this? What is it that when I'm in this space, I don't feel connected? I don't feel right in Spirit. I don't feel like I can speak openly. I don't feel like I am received or seen.”

Throw off those things that hinder you. Perhaps it's a belief system. Perhaps it's a habit. Perhaps it's an individual in your life. And just because you throw something off, it doesn't mean that it's gone for good. It's just giving yourself permission to say, “This is not serving me in my unfoldment. And so, since this is not serving me, I'm not going to let it continue to hinder me.”

Identify those places where you still are practicing separation. Identify those places where you still are allowing yourself to believe that you are less than what you are, which is divine, which is infinite, which is a child of God created as the I Am in extension. Find those places.

Have you guys tried running? I'm sure we've had to at different points. Have you ever tried running with your hands full? Could you imagine getting out of your car with the things you're bringing for a potluck and all of a sudden the storm comes in? How challenging it would be to run and grab your purse and kick the door shut and just hope you don't fall right there before you get in the building? It's hard to run the race of this life. The beautiful experience we have when we have our arms full of things that no longer serve us.

Is it a mental loop, a place that you keep visiting over and over again even though you know it doesn't serve you? Is it an old identity, something that you've been told is you throughout your life or maybe just in the past few months and you're recognizing that's not true to who you are? Or is it those voices and not voices that come from the Spirit, not voices that come from those people in our life who love us dearly and encourage us, but those voices that speak doubt, that speak worry, that take uncertainty and turn it into fear? What are those voices saying? Recognize those places and do not allow any of them to have authority over you.

Have you ever tried to take a picture on your phone and there was no more space in your phone camera? Or have you ever started using an app on your phone and it's running really slow? Or we can go back a little bit for my seasoned individuals. You know sometimes I remember the computer would be running really slow and I would get asked that question, “Did you defragment?” Did I what? And I remember going in and opening a little defragmenter and there'd be all these little colors on the screen and supposedly this is the security that I'm defragmenting my computer and I'm clearing my cookies and everything else going on and it's going to be better.

Well, that's what we need to do. We need to make sure that we're clearing the clutter so we're not running slower, so we don't have 150 some screenshots and we don't have all these outdated apps and we don't have all these little videos of silly things that we took.

Let's clear the clutter so we can function more smoothly, so we can keep our focus, so when the clutter is gone we can see what's being offered to us and how we can cease that offering and move forward into what's next.

You know I remember doing a sermon one time where I put rocks into a glass jar. It's a classic they use a lot in time management when it comes to teaching and things like that. As you're putting them in the water rises, the space becomes less and less and it overflows a little because it's getting too full of these rocks.

You know it's funny it's not the overflow that you have to be concerned about. We're so quick to think, “Oh no! Now this is spilling over. I need to figure out how to clean this up.”

Let's go back a step. What if we weren't putting all these rocks in there, if we weren't continuing to drop things in there that say, “I regret this but I'm doing it anyway. I am a perfectionist so I'm going to cling on to this and not make any room for growth and not make any room to come more and more into alignment with who I am”?

It's really challenging to let go of recognizing that sometimes we just fill our plates. We fill our lives. We fill our minds with clutter and maybe that's just because it's an old habit and it feels safer. It feels like something we're used to and we know, but if we don't allow ourselves the room, if we don't clear the clutter and allow the space, we won't hear the new that's coming for us. We won't hear the unexpected because we're too busy filling ourselves with expectations. We won't get to partake of the gifts and the miracles because our hands, our minds, our bodies are already full and some of it just isn't necessary.

So, your homework there is to take a moment and go into silence and when you're in that moment of silence, whether you close your eyes or open your eyes, invite the Spirit to reveal to you what is there that is cluttering your relationship with God. Ask, “What is cluttering my ability to see where spirit is calling me? What is cluttering my ability to see myself?” Do you remember the mirror exercise not too long ago? What is it that we need to clear away?

And now we have the U. Use your time wisely.

You know one of my favorite things in being a mom are those moments when my kids come to me and they say, “Oh I didn't get to do this or that because I didn't have enough time,” and I'm thinking was that in between watching 10,000 TikToks or was that when you were gaming for five hours on end or was that when you went to the kitchen for the 20th snack that you didn't have time to clean up after yourself. See kids are fun to pick on especially when they're not here so this is even better and will they read this message? Probably not.

The funny thing is when I hear my kids like that, more than anything, once I get present I get the lesson for myself. How many times am I running in and out because of poor time management? How many times am I missing or longing for something just because I didn't steward my time well? How many times do I use busyness and filling up my schedule as an excuse to not invest my time more effectively?

You know it's so easy to just put a whole bunch of things on my calendar and say, “Well, I'm busy. I have to do this and I have to do this and I have to do this and I have to do that,” but the thing is, is what we're doing and all that busyness, does that really matter? Do the things we're doing really matter or are we just using them as excuses? Are we practicing them as habits?

Again, use your time wisely. When we're called to good stewardship it's not just about finances it's also about our time. Another place for you to look at is, what's the one thing that you keep putting off that you claim you don't have enough time to do? What is something that you keep putting off that you actually want to do, and what is your excuse as to why you can’t? Is it that you don't have enough time? Is it that you're afraid of committing? “Well, I can't commit to that because if I do it might take more time than I have available.” Because if it's really calling you, if it's something that really charges you and gets you excited, then I want to encourage you to make time for it.

Time is this beautiful tool and resource that we can use to control us, to instill us with fear and doubt. It's how we get into aging and illness. It's how we get into worrying about not having enough for retirement, worrying about having enough for our kids to go to college. It's how we get into all the noise and all the stories, thinking that time is a governance over our life.

Spirit is the governance over our life. Remembrance of self is the governance over our life and when we steward our time wisely we can spend more of it in those spaces where we release the feeling of rush, where we release the anxiety, where we release the excuses. What are you being called to right here and now that the only reason you don't have time for it is because you keep giving time that power over you. You keep letting go of who you are and letting time determine it for you.

And the last one, the letter S: staying Spirit led.

Whenever you are making a decision, how often do you pause? In Galatians 5:25 it says, “Since we live by the Spirit let us keep in step with the Spirit.”

I know this couple who really believe in tuning in to the guidance of Spirit. Now you all might think this is a little far out there, but remember to each is their own. When they are choosing what to eat that day, when they are looking at their day's activities, what they're going to read, what they're going to wear, they are intentional and being prayerful and seeking Spirit as they go to do it.

Now it's so easy for us to think, “Well that's just crazy. I couldn't imagine praying, ‘do I put my right shoe on first or do I put my left shoe on first, Spirit? What do you think?’” Right? We can laugh and we can make jokes about it and it is funny, you know. And I'm sure these individuals even recognize how the rest of the world will find them humorous, but I'll tell you what. You look at their life, you look how it's aligned, you look how their marriage is so in tune, you look at their compassion; they lead bible studies and they lead spiritual groups, and, you know what? I'm not going to mock them because what they're doing is seeking to be Spirit-led in everything they do.

They're seeking to be in step with the Spirit. See, focus isn't about clinging to a plan. Focus isn't about being so locked in that you don't have room to move. Focus is about trusting that sometimes Spirit is going to call something onto your calendar that wasn't there originally or Spirit is going to call you to take something off your calendar that wasn't there originally. Spirit is going to give you an assurance of something that's to come and it may be so far out that you don't want to be in step with Spirit because you don't want to wait for it, but if you don't walk in step with Spirit you're never going to receive it.

Do you remember when Jesus was on his way to see Jairus who had the child who he believed was dead and Jesus was making his way through the crowd and you know Jesus has gotten so much fame and so much ridicule there are people that want to worship him and people that want to have him locked up. So, as he moves through the towns, especially when people know that he is moving, people are swarming in on him and there's a woman who touches the hem of his garment.

Now we don't know exactly, but I bet you there were other people along the way who were like, “Jesus! Jesus!”, trying to get a hold of him, but this woman touched the hem of his garment with the full trust and the full knowing that if I just reach for his presence he will return that presence to me and he allowed for that interruption. He stayed in step with Spirit. He stayed in step with the Father. He stayed in step with the I Am that he is and in that not only did he take the time to reveal to that woman that her faith had made her well, that all that she needed was already residing in her, he caused questions of his disciples who couldn't understand, “Why does he pause for these things?”

He caused panic in Jairus as he's stopping because he was thinking, “You're supposed to be saving my child.” But he stayed in step with Spirit and everything worked out because spiritual alignment will outrank and overpower all the incongruencies, all the interruptions, all the distractions.

I invite you, as you are in a time this week, whether you do it today or throughout the week, to just pause for a moment and gain your focus, see what you need to do to fix your eyes ahead, check over those yeses and those no's and make sure they're exactly what you want where you want, clear out that clutter—that spring cleaning of the mind, body, and spirit can happen every day of the week. It's very helpful.

Use your time wisely; stop saying no to the things that you are feeling called to because you don't have enough time and see time for what it is. It can be a prison or it can be a palace and you get to choose that and stay Spirit-led. Say, “Holy Spirit, lead me now. Not my will, but thine will.” And if you really believe in that as you are putting your focus where it needs to be you will see things come to fruition. You will feel it in your relationships. You'll feel it in your physical body. You'll see it manifest all around you because that's what we are called to be. We're called to be in alignment with God.

True focus is never about straining. It's never about the hard hustle, but it's about the being intentional, being focused, and being aligned with God.

Please pray with me. Our creator God, we give you so much gratitude for all that you give us, for all the provisions you provide in our life, the Holy Spirit, the Word, church, Sunday school, the people around us. Help us to lean into these places that we can identify what we need to do to fix our focus on you. Help us identify where we can allow more room in our lives for the Spirit to lead and guide us. Help us to be centered on the truth and the love that we find in Christ Jesus that we can boldly confidently walk ahead and step with the Spirit. It's in Jesus name we pray, amen.