The One Thing That Steadys Everything Else

Well now, you made it, friend. I’m glad your footsteps found their way up to this porch today. I was out here sippin’ my hot tea and watchin’ a whole parade of ants marchin’ across my porch rail with more organization than a church potluck line. And I thought, “Now that there is focus with a real purpose.” It was focused. Determined. Not distracted by the blue jay fussin’ over in the nearby bush or the old hound dog snorin’ under the steps. So, come over here, and pull up one of them there ol’ front porch rockers right over here. Now, let’s git to talkin’ some truth here. Psalm 27:4 says, “The one thing I ask of the Lord, the thing I seek most, is to live in the house of the Lord all the days of my life.” That lil’ ol’ ants plum had their one thing they were fixed on. And David had his one thing. And, friend, we all need ours, too.

The most spiritual folks I’ve ever known were not out there floatin’ around like they was too holy to touch the ground. They were the down‑to‑earth, laugh‑out‑loud, salt‑of‑the‑earth kind of people. David was sho’-nuff’ like that. He wrote in Psalm 57:7, “My heart is confident in You, O God.” He plum knew where he was headed. He wasn’t fickle. He was real focused.

Paul had that same laser kind of focus. In Philippians 3:13-14 he said he was forgettin’ what was behind and pressin’ toward the prize ahead. And here’s an extra verse that fits this truth like a saddle fits a horse. Proverbs 4:25 says, “Let your eyes look straight ahead. Fix your gaze directly before you.” In other words, pick your one thing and keep your eyes plum set on it.

But here’s where we get ourselves in a big pickle. We try to be livin’ in two different worlds. We want to be Christians on Sunday, and then leave God sittin’ in the church parkin’ lot the rest of the week. We chase business, family, ministry, success, comfort, applause, and a whole barnyard of other things. None of those things are bad, but they make terrible “one, single things.” The main thing must be fixated on must be Jesus or everything else gits to wobblin’ like a real shook-up, three‑legged goat trying to be walkin’ around on a frozen pond.

Father, help me keep my eyes on You. Make You my one thing. Teach me to love You first, follow You fully, and trust You completely. In Jesus’ name, Amen.

Alright, there it is, friend. Make sure that you tuck this here truth real deep down in your heart before you head back out into the world in a bit. Life will try to pull your attention in a hundred different directions like a eager flock of chickens scatterin’ when the feed bucket gits to rattlin’. But a heart plum anchored in Jesus stands real steady. Distractions may git to buzzin’ around you like peaky lil’ gnats in July, but they can’t shake up a soul that knows what its one thing is. Lift your chin, fix your gaze, and remember that the God who calls you to His service is also the very same God who keeps you. And if you keep Him first, everything else plum finds its rightful place in line.

With joy,

Gwen