FOCUS is not at the top of my character traits list. Once in a while a good cause will grab my attention and I will devote time and energy to contributing to it, but soon I will become bored with it, especially if the outcome or results I was hoping for didn’t fall in my timeline.

PATIENCE, however, could be the first on my list . . . if I’m reading it from the bottom up! Which would explain why I get bored so quickly when I don’t see results.

Yet it is interesting, as I look at this passage, that what robs us of the joy of “delighting in the Lord” (v. 4) is something as seemingly harmless as our peripheral vision. Our lack of focus bred from our lack of patience. When I’m looking up and what I think should be happening is not, I start looking around and focusing on the world’s injustices and questioning God’s justice. This breeds resentment and fret, which “leads only to evil” (v.8). Hmm . . . Then I become the evildoer.

In contrast, when my vertical vision is focused and obstacle-free, when I “delight myself in the Lord” (v. 4) and “wait patiently for him” (v. 7), a list of promises and blessings comes pouring down from heaven fulfilling my heart’s desires.

Am I sabotaging my own lifeline with my spiritual A.D.D.? How amazing it is to think that God knew I would have that tendency and preserved tools like this psalm to gently put His hands on my face and turn my head back UP as He softly whispers, “Stay focused.”