Unfocused Fatigue

Many, including myself have been in a state of sadness recently as we are witnessing many suffer whether it has been a form of financially, medically, or enduring a form of shunning.  The most important factor to remember is our focus on Jesus in this storm we are beginning to enter.  If we are lacking in focus it is not going to be of any help in what is coming upon us and we will end up becoming overwhelmed and unfocused and this will surely wear us down.  Only when we are abiding in the Lord do we have His protection and provisions. 

 

I wrote about focus in the coming storm some time ago when I first began this blog in where the Lord told me our focus must remain on Him constantly.   Since we are in the beginning of this storm as it begins to ramp up, I felt led to write about victory in the Lord and talk about that and some of what I have gone through recently.  During this I have also been studying 2 Samuel and so I felt it was appropriate to tie that in as well as it pertains the many victories David had.

 

In what is coming upon the world, if we focus more on what is going wrong in the storm and allow it to interfere with our focus on Jesus in this time, we will surely end up beginning to sink just like Peter did when he saw Jesus walking on the water during a storm and took his eyes off of Jesus and focused on the rough waves and storm happening around Him rather than keeping himself focused on Jesus.  Jesus reached out and grabbed him but asked Peter why he had so little faith.  It is told to us in this parable so as to understand where our focus needs to be with everything horrid going on around us. 

 

Most of you already know that the news of what is taking place both in America and around the world is getting worse and worse by the day.  In fact, it’s reaching a point now and has been that things are happening so fast you can’t even keep up with them and when you do it begins to be information overload.  This is not only a distraction but can lead to a lot of grief and sadness.  It begins to lead to a feeling of hopelessness if you aren’t careful about it.  I have addressed a few of these recently for what they are and I have decided that once I have spoken of something to move on from it because if I dwell on the injustices day after day, I would never get anything done and be left feeling defeated.  The information is out there and folks have to decide for themselves what to do with what they have been shown.

 

I haven’t written for about a week for this reason because I was focusing on what’s been going on more than focusing on my studies.  I would study here and there but then feel like for whatever reason to be paying attention to developments taking place in what I have recently covered.  Like Peter, I slowly began to have this awful ‘sinking’ feeling.  I experienced great sadness and lack of focus.  For me, while I was still praying and making bullet-points for this blog entry, I just didn’t have the energy to actually write it until now.  A dear sister of mine last night quoted this feeling accurately as it pertains to Daniel 7:25 and a wearing down of the saints.  Though the antichrist has not been revealed to the world yet, we clearly can see now that the spirit of it is running rampant everywhere trying to wear people down through confusion and lawlessness. I personally cannot STAND the wickedness I am seeing, so it’s also been the indignation of it all.

 

With that, I decided to shut off the computer and put down the phone and walk away from looking at anything online for a good number of days -and I can confirm I am not the only one who has experienced this lately.  I have a few brothers and sisters I talk to where we have admitted to each other we are spending simply too much time focusing on these things and they have become a distraction from our time with the Lord.  It’s even more difficult when you know people close to you who are affected as some of them have experienced.  Even though I may not be dealing with it, if I have a brother or sister going through it, it still saddens me as I genuinely like to see others happy.  I don’t like chaos and I don’t like persistent sadness.  I strive for peace and work to maintain it and that includes empathizing with others and lifting them up in difficult times.

 

As a result of this we are feeling great sorrow and feeling worn out like I mentioned above in referencing Daniel 7:25. These instances zap your energy and then you don’t feel like doing much of anything else.  This is a tactic the enemy likes to pull alongside personal attacks to thwart any effort of leading others; to trip you up and try to make you stumble.   

 

I also had a few instances where emails were coming in using a generic form trying to say I had ‘copyrighted material’ on my site which I don’t.  All writings are my own, spirit led, and even if I repost an article from another site, which is rare, I always give credit to where it came from and who wrote it and a link to the original owner. The background image is the only thing that I got from elsewhere and it is not copyrighted because I checked and it came from a free use site which I even donated to use.  I always notice they can’t seem to tell me what specifically is copyrighted but want me to click on some random link from a Google Drive.  They must think that I was just born yesterday, I don’t know.  I don’t click on random links and nobody should not knowing what it is but what I will do is ban the person who sent it as I see it as an attack on my blog.

 

Going further on copyrights; My podcasts as you may notice, do not contain any music.  As much as I would like to put bumper music into my podcasts at the beginning and end to liven it up a little bit as it may pertain to what I am talking about; I have at this point refrained from doing so because who knows what type of royalties I would have to pay to record labels and I’m not about to open that can of worms just to use a 30-second clip here and there -especially when I already have the CD that I paid for years ago. 

 

The music industry has made plenty of money off of every release on every media format over the years, much of it by selling vapid garbage that is poisonous to the soul and I’m sorry to say I don’t subscribe to the view that I should have to pay additional royalties to use something I already have.  At the end of the day, the solution is simple; I just won’t use it.  It’s just another form of greed in my humble opinion but that’s the era we live in anymore with scams and everything seeming to become a technicality or politically correct virtue.  I may see what I can do adding music to the podcast going forward but it’s not a primary focus at this time. 

 

But going back to what I was saying, the emails and other distractions were just one part of it.  I had to take a few days to be still in order to regroup and refocus my efforts on prayer and study.  What the enemy fails at when trying to derail me or anyone else doing these works is it just leads to a better example to write about in teaching others and letting them know how I get through it and how they too can get through similar situations.  I like to refer to Romans 8:28-31 and giving the Lord praise for the wisdom He gives me on it in that God causes all things to work together for the good of those who love God and are called according to His purpose for them.  Therefore if the Lord is for me, who can be against me? 

 

 

I believe, no matter how things may look in this world, the Lord is going to lead those who belong to Him through it and we can and will triumph over these trials.  Victory belongs to those who belong to Jesus.  When we take a look at some of the verses from 1 & 2 Samuel, we can see that King David reverenced and obeyed the Lord and he was given many of victories.  He defeated Goliath as we read about in 1 Samuel 17, he escaped when Saul tried to have him killed due to his jealousy of the victories he had which you read about in 1 Samuel 18-19 (this also shines light on those who will betray others in the last days), and he was victorious against the Jebusites and Philistines (2 Sam 5) and the Ammonites (2 Sam 10).  In all of these victories he maintained his focus on God and sought direction in everything he faced and it was his faith that pulled him through every situation he was up against.   I have placed these verses below for reference and context.

 

I mention this because I have been studying 1 and 2 Samuel over the last week and the reoccurring phrase I hear in my spirit is ‘Victory belongs to those who belong to Me.’  In how this translates to now it goes along with all I have been writing about up until now that if we are abiding in the Lord we will not lose the victory.  In this season we find ourselves in it is the deceptions that will cause the wicked to fall when they are trying to tell people that what they do is good when it is anything but good, but the Word tells us this will not stand when we look at several of the proverbs.  Therefore if we are walking upright then we know the victory is already ours no matter what lies are told in the contrary.

 

When anything becomes a distraction or is tearing us down, we know we are being led by the Holy Spirit to turn away from it because these ‘distractions’ are doing exactly what they are designed to do which is hurt our time focused on the Lord’s Word and spend time in grief based on emotion and if we’re not particularly careful can lead some of us into sin which we need to try our best to avoid.  This also can relate to avoiding the traps just like David did.  This was illustrated in 1 Samuel time and again in the many times David was in danger and had to flee but he was always victorious as the blind and the lame could not conquer him as the Lord was his protection and David sought God regularly in all that he did.  As a result he was victorious as those who are following the Lord closely and keeping His ways focused on Him just as we are promised in Isaiah 26:3.

 

Verses as they pertain to above;

 

2 Corinthians 10: 3-4, 13 (NLT)

 

³ We are human, but we don’t wage war as humans do. ⁴ We use God’s mighty weapons, not worldly weapons, to knock down the strongholds of human reasoning and to destroy false arguments. 

 

¹³ We will not boast about things done outside our area of authority. We will boast only about what has happened within the boundaries of the work God has given us, which includes our working with you. 

 

 

 

1 Samuel 17: 32-51 (NLT)

 

³² “Don’t worry about this Philistine,” David told Saul. “I’ll go fight him!”

³³ “Don’t be ridiculous!” Saul replied. “There’s no way you can fight this Philistine and possibly win! You’re only a boy, and he’s been a man of war since his youth.”

 

³⁴ But David persisted. “I have been taking care of my father’s sheep and goats,” he said. “When a lion or a bear comes to steal a lamb from the flock, ³⁵ I go after it with a club and rescue the lamb from its mouth. If the animal turns on me, I catch it by the jaw and club it to death. ³⁶ I have done this to both lions and bears, and I’ll do it to this pagan Philistine, too, for he has defied the armies of the living God! ³⁷ The Lord who rescued me from the claws of the lion and the bear will rescue me from this Philistine!”

 

Saul finally consented. “All right, go ahead,” he said. “And may the Lord be with you!”

 

³⁸ Then Saul gave David his own armor—a bronze helmet and a coat of mail. ³⁹ David put it on, strapped the sword over it, and took a step or two to see what it was like, for he had never worn such things before.

“I can’t go in these,” he protested to Saul. “I’m not used to them.” So David took them off again. ⁴⁰ He picked up five smooth stones from a stream and put them into his shepherd’s bag. Then, armed only with his shepherd’s staff and sling, he started across the valley to fight the Philistine.

 

⁴¹ Goliath walked out toward David with his shield bearer ahead of him, ⁴² sneering in contempt at this ruddy-faced boy. ⁴³ “Am I a dog,” he roared at David, “that you come at me with a stick?” And he cursed David by the names of his gods. ⁴⁴ “Come over here, and I’ll give your flesh to the birds and wild animals!” Goliath yelled.

 

⁴⁵ David replied to the Philistine, “You come to me with sword, spear, and javelin, but I come to you in the name of the Lord of Heaven’s Armies—the God of the armies of Israel, whom you have defied. ⁴⁶ Today the Lord will conquer you, and I will kill you and cut off your head. And then I will give the dead bodies of your men to the birds and wild animals, and the whole world will know that there is a God in Israel! ⁴⁷ And everyone assembled here will know that the Lord rescues his people, but not with sword and spear. This is the Lord’s battle, and he will give you to us!”

 

⁴⁸ As Goliath moved closer to attack, David quickly ran out to meet him. ⁴⁹ Reaching into his shepherd’s bag and taking out a stone, he hurled it with his sling and hit the Philistine in the forehead. The stone sank in, and Goliath stumbled and fell face down on the ground.

 

⁵⁰ So David triumphed over the Philistine with only a sling and a stone, for he had no sword. ⁵¹ Then David ran over and pulled Goliath’s sword from its sheath. David used it to kill him and cut off his head.

 

1 Samuel 18: 5-15 (NLT)

 

⁵ Whatever Saul asked David to do, David did it successfully. So Saul made him a commander over the men of war, an appointment that was welcomed by the people and Saul’s officers alike.

⁶ When the victorious Israelite army was returning home after David had killed the Philistine, women from all the towns of Israel came out to meet King Saul. They sang and danced for joy with tambourines and cymbals. ⁷ This was their song:

“Saul has killed his thousands,
    and David his ten thousands!”

⁸ This made Saul very angry. “What’s this?” he said. “They credit David with ten thousands and me with only thousands. Next they’ll be making him their king!” ⁹ So from that time on Saul kept a jealous eye on David.

¹⁰ The very next day a tormenting spirit from God overwhelmed Saul, and he began to rave in his house like a madman. David was playing the harp, as he did each day. But Saul had a spear in his hand, ¹¹ and he suddenly hurled it at David, intending to pin him to the wall. But David escaped him twice.

 

¹² Saul was then afraid of David, for the Lord was with David and had turned away from Saul. ¹³ Finally, Saul sent him away and appointed him commander over 1,000 men, and David faithfully led his troops into battle.

 

¹⁴ David continued to succeed in everything he did, for the Lord was with him. ¹⁵ When Saul recognized this, he became even more afraid of him. ¹⁶ But all Israel and Judah loved David because he was so successful at leading his troops into battle.

 

1 Samuel 19: 1-10 (NLT)

Saul now urged his servants and his son Jonathan to assassinate David. But Jonathan, because of his strong affection for David, ² told him what his father was planning. “Tomorrow morning,” he warned him, “you must find a hiding place out in the fields. ³ I’ll ask my father to go out there with me, and I’ll talk to him about you. Then I’ll tell you everything I can find out.”

 

⁴ The next morning Jonathan spoke with his father about David, saying many good things about him. “The king must not sin against his servant David,” Jonathan said. “He’s never done anything to harm you. He has always helped you in any way he could. ⁵ Have you forgotten about the time he risked his life to kill the Philistine giant and how the Lord brought a great victory to all Israel as a result? You were certainly happy about it then. Why should you murder an innocent man like David? There is no reason for it at all!”

 

⁶ So Saul listened to Jonathan and vowed, “As surely as the Lord lives, David will not be killed.”

⁷ Afterward Jonathan called David and told him what had happened. Then he brought David to Saul, and David served in the court as before.

⁸ War broke out again after that, and David led his troops against the Philistines. He attacked them with such fury that they all ran away.

 

⁹ But one day when Saul was sitting at home, with spear in hand, the tormenting spirit from the Lord suddenly came upon him again. As David played his harp, ¹⁰ Saul hurled his spear at David. But David dodged out of the way, and leaving the spear stuck in the wall, he fled and escaped into the night.

 

2 Samuel 5: 6-8 (NLT)

 

⁶ David then led his men to Jerusalem to fight against the Jebusites, the original inhabitants of the land who were living there. The Jebusites taunted David, saying, “You’ll never get in here! Even the blind and lame could keep you out!” For the Jebusites thought they were safe. ⁷ But David captured the fortress of Zion, which is now called the City of David.

 

⁸ On the day of the attack, David said to his troops, “I hate those ‘lame’ and ‘blind’ Jebusites. Whoever attacks them should strike by going into the city through the water tunnel.” That is the origin of the saying, “The blind and the lame may not enter the house.”

 

2 Samuel 7:9 (KJV)

⁹ And I have been with you wherever you have gone, and have cut off all your enemies from before you, and have made you a great name, like the name of the great men who are on the earth.

 

2 Samuel 10: 2-19 (NLT)

² David said, “I am going to show loyalty to Hanun just as his father, Nahash, was always loyal to me.” So David sent ambassadors to express sympathy to Hanun about his father’s death.

 

But when David’s ambassadors arrived in the land of Ammon, ³ the Ammonite commanders said to Hanun, their master, “Do you really think these men are coming here to honor your father? No! David has sent them to spy out the city so they can come in and conquer it!” ⁴ So Hanun seized David’s ambassadors and shaved off half of each man’s beard, cut off their robes at the buttocks, and sent them back to David in shame.

 

⁵ When David heard what had happened, he sent messengers to tell the men, “Stay at Jericho until your beards grow out, and then come back.” For they felt deep shame because of their appearance.

 

⁶ When the people of Ammon realized how seriously they had angered David, they sent and hired 20,000 Aramean foot soldiers from the lands of Beth-rehob and Zobah, 1,000 from the king of Maacah, and 12,000 from the land of Tob. ⁷ When David heard about this, he sent Joab and all his warriors to fight them. ⁸ The Ammonite troops came out and drew up their battle lines at the entrance of the city gate, while the Arameans from Zobah and Rehob and the men from Tob and Maacah positioned themselves to fight in the open fields.

 

⁹ When Joab saw that he would have to fight on both the front and the rear, he chose some of Israel’s elite troops and placed them under his personal command to fight the Arameans in the fields. ¹⁰ He left the rest of the army under the command of his brother Abishai, who was to attack the Ammonites. ¹¹ “If the Arameans are too strong for me, then come over and help me,” Joab told his brother. “And if the Ammonites are too strong for you, I will come and help you. ¹² Be courageous! Let us fight bravely for our people and the cities of our God. May the Lord’s will be done.”

 

¹³ When Joab and his troops attacked, the Arameans began to run away. ¹⁴ And when the Ammonites saw the Arameans running, they ran from Abishai and retreated into the city. After the battle was over, Joab returned to Jerusalem.

 

¹⁵ The Arameans now realized that they were no match for Israel. So when they regrouped, ¹⁶ they were joined by additional Aramean troops summoned by Hadadezer from the other side of the Euphrates River. These troops arrived at Helam under the command of Shobach, the commander of Hadadezer’s forces.

 

¹⁷ When David heard what was happening, he mobilized all Israel, crossed the Jordan River, and led the army to Helam. The Arameans positioned themselves in battle formation and fought against David. ¹⁸ But again the Arameans fled from the Israelites. This time David’s forces killed 700 charioteers and 40,000 foot soldiers, including Shobach, the commander of their army. ¹⁹ When all the kings allied with Hadadezer saw that they had been defeated by Israel, they surrendered to Israel and became their subjects. After that, the Arameans were afraid to help the Ammonites.

 

Daniel 7:25 (NLT)

²⁵ He will defy the Most High and oppress the holy people of the Most High. He will try to change their sacred festivals and laws, and they will be placed under his control for a time, times, and half a time.

 

Hebrews 13:3 (NKJV)

³ Remember the prisoners as if chained with them—those who are mistreated—since you yourselves are in the body also.

 

Isaiah 5:20, 23 (NKJV)

²⁰ Woe to those who call evil good, and good evil; Who put darkness for light, and light for darkness; Who put bitter for sweet, and sweet for bitter!

 

²³ Who justify the wicked for a bribe, And take away justice from the righteous man!

 

Isaiah 26:3 (NKJV)

³ You will keep him in perfect peace,
Whose mind is stayed on You,
Because he trusts in You.

 

Job 30:25 (NLT)

²⁵ Did I not weep for those in trouble? Was I not deeply grieved for the needy?

 

John 15:4 (NLT)

⁴ Remain in me, and I will remain in you. For a branch cannot produce fruit if it is severed from the vine, and you cannot be fruitful unless you remain in me.

 

Matthew 14: 24-32 (NLT)

²⁴ Meanwhile, the disciples were in trouble far away from land, for a strong wind had risen, and they were fighting heavy waves. ²⁵ About three o’clock in the morning Jesus came toward them, walking on the water. ²⁶ When the disciples saw him walking on the water, they were terrified. In their fear, they cried out, “It’s a ghost!”

 

²⁷ But Jesus spoke to them at once. “Don’t be afraid,” he said. “Take courage. I am here!”

²⁸ Then Peter called to him, “Lord, if it’s really you, tell me to come to you, walking on the water.”

²⁹ “Yes, come,” Jesus said.

So Peter went over the side of the boat and walked on the water toward Jesus. ³⁰ But when he saw the strong wind and the waves, he was terrified and began to sink. “Save me, Lord!” he shouted.

³¹ Jesus immediately reached out and grabbed him. “You have so little faith,” Jesus said. “Why did you doubt me?”

³² When they climbed back into the boat, the wind stopped.

 

Proverbs 3:6 (NLT)

⁶ Seek his will in all you do, and he will show you which path to take.

 

Proverbs 5:22 (NLT)

²² An evil man is held captive by his own sins; they are ropes that catch and hold him.

 

Proverbs 11:5 (NLT)

⁵ The godly are directed by honesty; the wicked fall beneath their load of sin.

 

Proverbs 21: 28-30 (NLT)

²⁸ A false witness will be cut off,
    but a credible witness will be allowed to speak.

²⁹ The wicked bluff their way through,
    but the virtuous think before they act.

³⁰ No human wisdom or understanding or plan
    can stand against the Lord.

 

Psalm 20: 1-2, 5-8 (NLT)

¹ In times of trouble, may the Lord answer your cry.
    May the name of the God of Jacob keep you safe from all harm.
² May he send you help from his sanctuary
    and strengthen you from Jerusalem

 

 

⁵ May we shout for joy when we hear of your victory
    and raise a victory banner in the name of our God.
May the Lord answer all your prayers.

⁶ Now I know that the Lord rescues his anointed king.
    He will answer him from his holy heaven
    and rescue him by his great power.
⁷ Some nations boast of their chariots and horses,
    but we boast in the name of the Lord our God.
⁸ Those nations will fall down and collapse,
    but we will rise up and stand firm.

 

Psalm 46:10 (NLT)

¹⁰ “Be still, and know that I am God!
    I will be honored by every nation.
    I will be honored throughout the world.”

 

 

Romans 8: 28-31 (NLT)

²⁸ And we know that God causes everything to work together for the good of those who love God and are called according to his purpose for them. ²⁹ For God knew his people in advance, and he chose them to become like his Son, so that his Son would be the firstborn among many brothers and sisters. ³⁰ And having chosen them, he called them to come to him. And having called them, he gave them right standing with himself. And having given them right standing, he gave them his glory.

 

Romans 12:15 (NKJV)

¹⁵ Rejoice with those who rejoice, and weep with those who weep