Our lives are strengthened when we focus on that which gives us strength. As a pitching coach, three words often come out of my mouth: use your eyes. The theory is that our eyes tell our body where to release the ball. Thus, by focusing on a target, we are more likely to hit it. There is much to think about and many distractions as a pitcher, just as in our daily lives. However, like a pitcher, if we put our whole focus on our target, we no longer have any room to focus on distractions.

Paul wrote a letter to Timothy encouraging him in the midst of opposition and distractions. Just as a soldier, we can all relate to feeling opposed and distracted. It comes in many different ways. For basketball legend coach Kay Yow, it came in the way of breast cancer. She spoke of the struggle saying, “If something negative enters my mind, I push it out. I focus on God because then God becomes big and the problem becomes small. But, if I focus on the problem, the problem becomes big and God becomes small.” It is easy to become tied up in problems. Yet, the more we focus on them, the bigger they become and the less available we are to God and what He is doing. So, let us focus more on God so that He becomes bigger. Our situations don’t change, but our focus can.