A Little More Focus, a Little More Strength

February 08, 2020

A Little More Focus, a Little More Strength

“You need to persevere so that when you have done the will of God, you will receive what He has promised. For in just a very little while, ‘He who is coming will come and will not delay. But my righteous one will live by faith. And if he shrinks back, I will not be pleased with him.’” *

Early one morning I woke up right after having a dream. One sentence was fresh in my mind: “A little more focus, a little more strength.” But that was all I could remember. Who spoke those words? And why? I had gone to bed worried about something. Maybe that had prompted the dream.

Strange as it may seem, those words were familiar. In 1990, Al and I were nearing the end of a cross-country backpack in the 12,000 ft “foothills” of Denali Peak, Alaska. The only trails available were those made by bears or other animals as they foraged over tundra and along glacial streams for food.

Our route took us alongside and across the Ruth Glacier, one of many glaciers flowing from the majestic mountain. It went over steep slopes covered in willows and shrubs, over loose rock and around boulders that composed the moraines on each side of the enormous glacier and on the broken surface of the ice, riddled with crevasses.

One of our guides, Chip, said that the hike was tougher than climbing to the top of Denali! Chip, an experienced climber, thought it would have been wise to train for the trip by walking through a room with eggshells on the floor!

Al and I trained for the trip by walking on roads around Springville, carrying books in our packs. Well, to be honest, he trained. I prepared some ahead of time, but because of a busy schedule teaching, decided to train on the trail.

Not a good idea, especially when there is no trail! While walking carefully on the glacier, I lagged behind the rest of the group. The metal crampons on the bottoms of my boots and the uneven surface took its toll on my wobbly ankles.

Chip, who was walking directly behind me, said, “Look, you’re doing okay. All you need is a little more focus and a little more strength.”

His advice helped, reminding me to focus on the Lord. Once my focus was changed from self to Jesus, I was able to keep going until our leaders motioned to a place where we would be setting up camp for the night.

“A little more focus, a little more strength.” Those were the exact words I heard in the dream, words spoken about thirty years ago! Amazing! God had my attention! Worry thoughts vanished and new energy was found to face the day ahead.

Remember the story in the gospels of a stormy night, a water swamped boat, twelve terrified men on board and no Jesus there to help? When the figure of a person walking through the waves appeared to the men in the boat, they couldn’t believe their eyes. Was it a ghost? Jesus?

If it was the Lord, thought Peter, then wouldn’t He be able to make an ordinary human being walk on the water too? Faith! When Peter called out, asking the obscure figure to bid him come, there came the reply, “Come!”

Peter courageously got out of the boat, walking through the terrible gale towards Jesus. Suddenly overcome with fear, he began to sink and cried to Jesus for help. At that moment, Jesus caught him, saying “You of little faith, why did you doubt?” Hand in hand, they climbed into the boat as the storm abated and the wind died down. (Matthew 14:22-33, Mark 6:45-51 NIV)

Maybe Jesus was saying that Peter only needed a little more focus and a little more strength. Peter had a lot of faith until he stepped out of the boat! Then it seemed to vanish! It was when he focused on the power of the storm that he began to sink.

Most of us can to relate to Peter. There are many stormy times in our lives that cause us to begin to doubt God. Is He really in control? Is He really with us? But just as Jesus was there with outstretched arms to save Peter, so He is with us if we will just trust Him. All we need is a little more focus, a little more strength!

*Hebrews 10:36-38 NIV