Focus Like an Archer

But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.  (Matthew 6:33)

I am a traditional archer. This means that I use a plain wooden bow, not one of those compound bows (with training wheels), nor crossbows. I use a conventional wooden long bow to shoot targets and hunt. Right now, I am hunting and shooting with a bow that I made myself out of Osage wood. I am no artisan or craftsmen (in the least), but I have crafted a bow. I have spent hours and hours with a draw knife, shaping and sanding it. I put all of the finishes on it, and made the string; then, I made the arrows, and put the fletching on the feathers. That is what I use, old school bow and arrows.

The way you shoot a traditional bow is totally different. There are no sights on the bow. Rather, you shoot instinctively. Some of you are saying, “Where are you going with this?” Please hang on for a minute. When you look at a target, your goal is not to hit the target, but rather your focus is on the bullseye. Not just the bullseye; instead, you focus on the smallest thing that you can see in the middle of the bullseye. With all of your focus, and with all of your eyesight, you look at that one small little dot. You allow your eye to tell you where it is. You pull all the way back (relaxed) to your anchor point, and then you release. Hopefully, if your focus is clear, you will hit very close, if not right on that small, small dot.

For many of us, we look at the big picture and we get overwhelmed by everything around us. Sometimes, we have a difficult time focusing on what is most important. This is what I want to encourage you to do today. I want you to have the mentality of an old school archer. Instead of being overwhelmed by all of the things going on around you, I want you to focus like a laser on your Heavenly Father. We should be zeroed in on Him if we want to live this life well. We must honor Him with each day He gives us.

Where are you aiming? Where is your focus? Where do you need to refocus or adjust your gaze so that you can focus more on your Heavenly Father? Strive to focus on Him rather than on everything else around you.