The LORD shall preserve thee from all evil:

He shall preserve thy soul.

Psalms 121:7, KJV

Have you seen the remake of the movie, "The Karate Kid"? In it, the karate teacher scolds his student for not having focus. He is teaching his student a lesson in balance by having him do his workout while standing in the bow of a rowboat that is rocking back and forth. The student immediately claims that he does have focus, shortly before he loses his attention and is hurled into the water. His teacher then gives the classic line, "Your focus needs focus".

I think sometimes our focus needs focus. We get so distracted by the seemingly consequential that we miss the most important. So, today, we want to look at the things that truly matter the most.

In the 127th Psalm quoted from above, the writer begins by saying, "I will lift up mine eyes unto the hills, from whence cometh my help? My help cometh from the LORD, who maketh the heaven and the earth." The truth contained in the passage is vital for all of those who would seek peace in life. Life is chock-full of things that will make us anxious and afraid, should we ever lose focus of the fact that God is in control, and that it is He who will keep us safe from all dangers.  

I believe that remembering such truths is critical for us to function in the times in which we live. People seem to be meaner now, than when I was younger. Times seem to be harder. Sometimes it seems that people don't even like each other anymore so we have to keep vigilant against the things that they might do to harm us. These types of distractions can cause us to lose sight of the bigger picture if we are not careful. And what is the "bigger picture? Just what we have been reading from the Psalms today. That God is our helper. And since He is the One who created everything - including us, His help is sufficient.

This truth is vital for us to remember when things get tough. It is true that this old world does seem to be getting meaner and harder to live in. Some days it seems that it is difficult just to make a decent living. At other times we feel threatened from the events that are happening as well as from the people who are around us. And, like the karate student on the rocking boat, it is hard to keep our focus on the task at hand. So, just when we claim to be focusing, we are thrown into the tumultuous waters that surround us.

These are the moments that we need to remember our Helper and His promise. It is God Himself who will preserve us from evil, even to the point of preserving our soul. So, if we can focus on the things that we are here for - things such as serving God and helping our fellow man get through the troubles that they are going through, it will be then that life becomes bearable. This world has always had distractions and challenges, and Satan and his children seem to be very good at using them to trip us up. But, if we can keep in focus the things that truly matter, then we will do fine. God really does watch over our soul, and He really will preserve it.

All we have to do is to lift up our eyes unto the hills and see His great protection. We are going to heaven if we will but remain faithful to God, and we want to help as many people as we can to get to heaven themselves. It will not always be easy, and the storms of life will sometimes distract us. But if we can keep first things first and if we can keep our focus, then we will do just fine. God will preserve your soul and keep you from all evil if you will let Him. Once we have this focus, I believe that we will find that our lives are filled with incredible joys and blessing. And then there will be heaven!