The other day, I was talking to one of my friends about the overwhelm I was feeling because of all the tasks I had to do. She shared with me that she, too, feels overwhelmed at times, and apparently many people are feeling the same way during this pandemic. She went on to say that she just asks God to give her spiritual blinders to enable her to focus on one thing at a time. After all, we can’t do but one thing at a time, right? What she said really helped me. It came to me that if we want to avoid overwhelm in life, we need to have “spiritual tunnel vision.” What do I mean by that? According to Dictionary.com, tunnel vision is defined as “a drastically narrowed field of vision, as in looking through a tube.” Although in the physical realm, tunnel vision is a bad thing, in the spirit realm, it’s a GOOD thing. We need to start praying for God to give us the ability to have spiritual tunnel vision so that we can eliminate the spirit of overwhelm from our lives. Here are a few ways you can use spiritual tunnel vision to keep you peaceful, joyful, and stress-free:
Focus on the task at hand given to you by God. When we focus on the one thing that God has given us as a priority to the exclusion of all the other things we have to do, we can avoid feeling overwhelmed. According to 1 Corinthians 13:10, He won’t give us more than we can handle, and He will give us the way of escape. We can trust Him to keep His Word. Therefore, let’s entrust those things we can’t get to at the moment unto God for safekeeping (2 Timothy 1:12). We must wait until God Himself tells us to make them a priority.
Focus on God, not your circumstances. Isaiah 26:3 (NKJV) says, “You will keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on You because he trusts in You.” When we pray and meditate on the Word during trials, we keep our attention is in the right place: on God. However, when we focus on the “winds and the waves” of circumstances (like Peter did in Matthew 14:30), that’s when we court disaster and end up sinking.
Focus on the good to the exclusion of the bad. When we focus on the good things God has done versus what He is not doing, we foster an attitude of gratitude in our hearts. Gratitude will take us a long way in the Kingdom. When we focus on the good, the bad fades into the background, and we can maintain our peace and joy even when circumstances in life aren’t the best.
So if you want to avoid overwhelm, develop your spiritual tunnel vision. We do have the ability to choose what we focus on, Saints. In the world of psychology, that’s called “selective attention.” Selective attention is the ability to focus on one thing in the midst of all the stimuli we are exposed to at any given moment. The Bible says in Deuteronomy 30:19 (NJKV), “I have set before you life and death, blessing and cursing; therefore choose life, that both you and your descendants may live.“ Therefore, let’s choose to have spiritual tunnel vision when it comes to tasks, circumstances, and the good things God is doing in our lives. Choose life and keep your spiritual blinders on.
Which point above resonated with you most? Please leave a comment below.
Tracey L. Moore (a.k.a. The Purposeful Poet) is a poet, author and speaker whose goal is to challenge you to be your best for Christ. She holds a Master of Arts degree in Christian Counseling from Oral Roberts University and is an Associate Minister at Chesapeake Christian Center in Chesapeake, Virginia. Learn more about Tracey at http://www.TraceyLMoore.com.