I have learned to trust in God, with His help, despite my natural bend to always be in control. Amid a lingering pandemic, inflation, and concerns over world politics – there is plenty of distractions vying for our attention. But what if your breakthrough could come from choosing to bring God into focus instead? For me, victory has come through a process of setting aside my expectations of what I think it’s supposed to look like as God’s plan unfolds. Now, I am not saying we should stick our heads in the sand and not be aware of our circumstances and the world around us. But being aware and choosing what to focus on are two different things. A couple of years ago, a former colleague approached me with an idea of opening a business together. We had worked together for years in the Property Management industry and obtained awesome results as a team. Entrepreneurism has been an interest of mine for a long time, and I felt God was leading me in that direction. We opened for business and have had great growth. At a business meeting yesterday, we discussed balancing the completion of daily tasks with making time for big-picture focus. I was encouraged, as we took inventory of all the blessings we’ve experienced in terms of growth from a 30,000 foot view. While I’ve learned from fellow business owners, books, seminars, speakers, blogger and vloggers, the firm foundation and anchor of my entire life is Jesus. My focus must stay fixed on Him, and my big-picture goal which is to serve Him well. I fall short plenty, but when I feel tossed by the waves, I adjust my lens and ensure I am focused on the Lord. This keeps me grounded, and I have inner peace knowing that even though the waves will still come, my anchor will not be moved. I share my testimony because God rescued me from the bondage of fear and worry, and He deserves the glory! I have had a wonderful mentor, Pastor Laurie, who was instrumental in helping me in my journey of learning what it means to trust God, which is essential. She taught me the importance of prayer, bible study, and connecting with mature believers. She shared scriptures for me to cling to on the days when the problems in my life held my focus and the subsequent feeling of defeat stole my inner joy. Instead of allowing the problems of the day to bring me down, I had to choose to focus on the truth that God is in control, He is good, His promises are true and He loves us. He can be trusted with every worry, problem and need. One of my favorite bible teachers, Lisa Harper, said in a sermon “I have never seen God’s back.” What a beautiful way to express the faithfulness of God. The hard part for me is still in the waiting, but His timing is always perfect. When problems or concerns arise that seem insurmountable, have peace in knowing that God is more than able to see you through. You don’t have to weather the storms alone. Let us pray to the Lord and then trust in Him. Let God be your firm foundation, as we read in Luke 6:46-49 NLT “So why do you keep calling me ‘Lord, Lord!’ when you don’t do what I say? I will show you what it’s like when someone comes to me, listens to my teaching, and then follows it. It is like a person building a house who digs deep and lays the foundation on solid rock. When the floodwaters rise and break against that house, it stands firm because it is well built. But anyone who hears and doesn’t obey is like a person who builds a house right on the ground, without a foundation. When the floods sweep down against that house, it will collapse into a heap of ruins.” My prayer for each of you is that the Lord will help you as you make the conscious choice to take your focus off of life’s troubles and bring Him into focus instead. I pray that in doing so, you will be renewed in your inner joy, peace, and hopefulness.