Concentrate


Psa 119:112  I concentrate on doing exactly what you say-- I always have and 

	always will. 


	He had become quite skilled with it really, this staff in his hand. When 

he had first started working with the animals, it had seemed so awkward to hold 

and manipulate. But, with practice and continual use it had become just an 

extension of his own arm, helping him to communicate with them and control their 

movements. Also, for all the walking that became a part of his every day, the 

staff was like an old friend that he could always lean on to help him along. 


It was just what little boys did, pick up rocks and throw them. Maybe a bit like 

video games today, it was a competition and a challenge to see how accurate and 

far each little stone might be thrown. To increase the distance he learned that 

he could put the stone in a sling and, by swinging it a few times, get an 

incredible distance out of each throw. It was like an extension of his arm that, 

once he gained mastery over it through repetition, gave him much more range and 

accuracy with each throw. 


	He had also become fascinated with throwing things and had at an early age 

started playing an organized game that was all about just throwing, catching and 

hitting this special ball with these threads on it. He found that for him it was 

most fun to be the one throwing the ball the most. If he could manipulate how 

the ball flew through the air and how its spinning caused the threads to affect 

its path, he could trick those guys trying to hit it. Fascinated with the 

challenge of it, there was always a ball in his hand, almost like another part 

of his body. When he would throw it, it was like there was this incredible 

extension of his own arm reaching out and making contact with what he hoped 

would be his buddy's glove rather than the other guy's bat. 


	There was something of great importance for Moses to do. He would actually 

be demonstrating the power and the will of His God. He would be leading a whole 

nation of slaves in a mass exodus from their oppressors. If he would have had to 

learn how to do this, there would not have been enough time for him to go to 

school and learn how to work miracles and lead people on long journeys. If He 

would have had to think about it in order to do it, the thoughts would have been 

overwhelming, as the task would have seemed way beyond him. But, in reality, the 

magnitude of the task before him could be broken down into one little thing that 

had become a part of his life, the use of the staff in his hand. It wasn't 

something new that he would have to learn and master. All he had to do was let 

it be an extension of his own hand and use it in the way he was directed by God. 

All he had to do was concentrate on doing what had become a part of his life 

already. As he lifted the staff, God took over and brought incredible things to 

pass. It turned into a snake; water came from a rock; a whole sea parted before 

him and he was able to be the great leader that would walk from Egypt and have a 

whole nation follow him into the wilderness. All he had to do was what he had 

already done and would continue to do, concentrate on the staff in his hand. 


	David would become the greatest king of Israel, subduing all surrounding 

enemies and securing a dominance for his people that would provide for their 

peace and prosperity. He had been anointed at a young age to be king, but he 

really couldn't get right to work on being this great king, preparing himself 

somehow for whatever it would require. He might have been an inappropriate 

choice and ill prepared in some opinions, but he found that when it came time to 

do what God required, all he would have to concentrate on was what was already 

in his hand. God would use the thing that was already a part of David life to 

demonstrate His own power and might. There would never be a challenge too great 

for David, as he would use the thing over which he had already gained mastery- 

the sling, the harp and the sword. He didn't have to bother himself with the 

details of how God might use them, all he had to do was lift them and let them 

be an extension of his own hand to perform the work that God would empower. 


	For any great pitcher that will stand before thousands of people in a park 

and millions of people on television, there is one thing that must be his focus, 

just throwing that ball with the threads on it. If his concentration is allowed 

to waver in the least from the thing that is most familiar to him, he will be 

overwhelmed and intimidated by the magnitude of his task. There is a victory and 

many honors waiting for him to just pick up that ball and do what he has loved 

since childhood, throwing it. His greatest challenge in a game will always be 

broken down to his ability to focus on what is most familiar.


	God has planned a life of victory, abundance and success for each and 

every person. If we were to know the incredible things that lie before us, we 

might feel totally overwhelmed and intimidated by the magnitude of it. Though it 

may not be the thing of worldly acclaim on the scale of Moses, David, or Roger 

Clemens, the demonstration of God's ability through us will be a thing of 

eternal significance as it glorifies Him and points people to the source of life 

in Him. We don't have to be concerned with the details of how any of this will 

take place, though, and it is not really necessary to get it all worked out in 

our heads. If it required this, we would never be prepared and might as well 

just sit back and do nothing. But, when it comes time for God to move through 

us, He will most likely just ask us to lift up the thing that is already in our 

hand. The very thing that has already become a part of our life and an extension 

of who we are will be the thing on which we can concentrate. Just using it as He 

instructs us will make it both familiar and easy. 


	Doing what God says will not be something that is all of a sudden this 

incredibly daunting task. Obedience to His direction and will can be learned and 

discovered in the little things that occupy our every day. As the thing most 

familiar to us becomes a part of our continual awareness of His presence, there 

will be obedience to His will found in our every moment and movement. Then, when 

the thing that would seem to be beyond us and our limitations arises, we will 

not have to concentrate on anything other than what is already in our hand. It 

will most certainly be His power being demonstrated anyway, all He needs us to 

do is what we've done and will always do, lift what is in our hand and let Him 

use it for His glory. It is most important, then, that something is there and 

available for Him, something in which we've been diligent and faithful.



Exo 4:1  Moses objected, "They won't trust me. They won't listen to a word I 

	say. They're going to say, 'GOD? Appear to him? Hardly!'" 

Exo 4:2  So GOD said, "What's that in your hand?" "A staff." (Message)