Lack of focus is an obstacle to any vision

I admit that staying focused is a potential hindrance to my business and to carrying out God’s work. It’s something that could be a problem for me every day. I realized this when I was attending a Deeper Life for Pastors and Ministers class a couple of years ago. Apostle Elijah Forte (my spiritual leader) asked a question: “What is the biggest obstacle to his ministry?” to the class.

As a person with an entrepreneurial and creative spirit, ideas flow through my mind like water coming out of a faucet. It flows continuously. So much so that sometimes I want to say, “Lord, turn off the faucet for a minute so I can catch my breath.” I think it’s a gift that could seem like a curse if I don’t take practical steps to control this flow of ideas. I could literally go down. Drowning in ideas or having too many tasks on my mind manifests externally in overwhelming, doubt, depression, anxiety, and immobility.

The problem is not the flow of ideas. The problem is jumping from one idea to another before one comes to fruition. It is the same when one jumps from one task to another. Now, there are people out there who have no problem staying focused. Sometimes I say, “I wish I could be like them.” But I have to remind myself that that trait is not part of my design, so keep going.

So how do I handle this potential roadblock? First, I exercise my spiritual authority. I pray and ask God to give me revelation, strength, and wisdom to overcome this obstacle. I position myself to hear God’s voice on the matter by communicating (quality time) with Him and keeping a journal with me at all times to write down everything I hear. He is so faithful. He always comes. So, based on the wisdom that God reveals, I exercise my natural authority. That natural authority for me is that I set “VM Hours”. You guessed it, Vision Manifestation Hours. I go in and out like I would if I was working a job. However, I use a cheap kitchen timer. For example, if my virtual machine’s hours are 7:00 PM to 8:00 PM every Wednesday night, I set the timer to go off for 60 minutes. During that time, I do nothing but work on the task or vision. I do not answer the phone. I don’t watch TV. I don’t open the front door. I do nothing that is not part of the vision. When I’m done, I put my hands up like Rocky did when he reached the top of the steps on Rocky. Here is the formula of the Manifestation of the Vision, FAITH + FOCUS + FOLLOW-UP = MANIFESTATION VM.

Scripture Meditation: Let your eyes look directly ahead and your gaze be directly in front of you. (Proverbs 4:25 PSE)

(Article written for Women of Standard magazine)