AVOID THE FANNY-BITE!
Focus can make or break a person. I have a plaque in my house that reads: Be careful what you focus on: your thoughts become your words, your words become your actions, your actions become your habits, your habits become your witness, your witness is everything! What a person is focused on will either be to their success, or it will be to their downfall. This truth must be part of the reasoning behind God's instruction in Proverbs: "Where there is no revelation, the people cast off restraint. But happy is he who keeps the law" (Proverbs 29:18 NKJV).
Most people are familiar with the King James Version: "Where there is no vision, the people perish..." Yet both words, revelation and vision, deal with focus. In other words, where there is no sight, people are lost. But in context of right or wrong focus, it's not so much about not seeing as it is about seeing correctly. God does not desire for His people to perish or be lost. Therefore, He has given His Word as a map. This is why He said, "But happy is he who keeps the law {following God's teaching}." We could say, "Happy is the one who follows the map {is not lost}."
Another word that explains the revelation or vision God desires for us to have is the word boundary. For example, if I needed to travel from Dallas to Tampa, the highway would be my boundary to follow. Without the boundary of the road, with its markings and signs, I might end up in Canada -- completely off-track and lost! "Where there is no revelation {no boundary}, the people cast off restraint {perish, get lost, run wild}." This is not the will of God for man. When there are no boundaries, everyone is in danger.
Think about a fence. What is it useful for? It either keeps things in or keeps things out. At a wildlife park, there are boundaries for the lions and boundaries for the people. Where there is no boundary, people are open for attack. Therefore, the boundaries are there for the protection of the people and the wildlife. In the same manner, God has set up boundaries for His children to keep them protected from their enemy, the devil. Someone once said, "The devil can't schedule your destruction, but he tries real hard to schedule your distraction."
When a person is distracted by wrong focus, the devil is waiting and watching for the right moment to POUNCE! "Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil walks about like a roaring lion seeking whom he may devour" (1 Peter 5:8). Other translations say, "Keep a cool head {keep your mind clear}. Stay alert. The Devil {your opponent} is {prowling around} poised to pounce, and would like nothing better than to catch you napping {and devour you}" (Message and God's Word Translations). This is not a secret to most Believers. We are well aware that the devil is out to get us! But what is a secret is his method of distracting us.
"Lest Satan should take advantage of us, we are not ignorant of his devices" (2 Corinthians 2:11). Paul said this to the church in Corinth, but unfortunately it is not true of all Believers; many are ignorant of Satan's devices. God said, "My people perish for a lack of knowledge" (Hosea 4:6). Ignorance is nothing more than a lack of knowledge. This would explain why God said His people perish. When they are ignorant, or have a lack of knowledge (or we could say no revelation or vision), they perish under Satan's attacks.
Ignorance can also mean to ignore.
I am amazed at the Christians who live their lives like an ostrich with his head in the sand, not realizing that his plump, fat fanny is sticking up in the air with a sign that says, "Yum! Yum! Come and get me devil!" Yet they act so surprised when the devil comes like the roaring lion and takes a big bite out of them!
Or what about God's Word being likened to a map? I have a hard time sympathizing with those who choose to ignore the written directions. It is a waste of time and energy to keep the map folded in our lap. God didn't say, "Where there is no MAP, the people perish." He said, "Where there is no revelation {concerning the map}, the people {get lost, open themselves up for attack, and} perish." God has given us a map! It is His Word.
We could also use children as a good example. The New Living Translation of Proverbs 29:18 says, "When people do not accept divine guidance, they run wild." Have you ever seen children without boundaries? They run wild! The sad truth is that children running wild are crying out for boundaries. In the natural, it appears they are rebellious and defiant. Yet looking at it spiritually, these same children (created in the image of God) are looking for the safety of boundaries. What looks like defiance may be nothing more than a child pushing against everything trying to find the safety of his or her boundary. Once the boundary is revealed, the child feels safe and settles down in the security of thier borders.
Don't forget that you and I are children of God.
We need boundaries to keep us guarded against the attacks of the enemy and to give us the security our soul longs for. True revelation, vision, and focus are the boundaries that make us feel safe. False revelation gives us false security. It seems to meet the need until the SURPRISE bite in the fanny by the lion! However, correct focus will protect us from such a fate. We can approach life with an understanding of revelation and truth. "Your righteousness is eternally right, and Your revelation is the only truth" (Psalm 119:142, Message).
My prayer is for God's Word, His map, to be the center of our attention and the reason for our success.
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