“Resist looking back and look ahead to see Jesus!”
Thoughts from daily Bible reading for today – November 7, 2025
Jesus answered him, “No one who sets a hand to the plow and looks to what was left behind is fit for the Kingdom of God.” Luke 9:62
Recently, I found myself stumbling and falling flat on my face. That’s right. I made the mistake of shifting my focus from navigating over rocks and roots on my hike through the woods to dictating a text on my phone, and when I looked down for a quick check of my words, my feet got tangled, and I fell. I ignored two priorities (no phone when walking with the Lord, keeping my focus on the smooth path), and before I knew it, I was hitting the hard ground and grimacing over a strawberry on my kneecap. Reminding myself that being fully focused helps avoid a fall.
Jesus uses a farming analogy to illustrate how to focus on truly following Him. To plow in a straight row is to organize planting seeds in such a way that yields the most and the best fruit. However, losing focus by looking back causes the plow to stray, resulting in poorer outcomes. Some who claim to be Christians turn away once they face the cost of discipleship. They become preoccupied with missing their old life and get distracted from becoming a mature follower of Jesus. In contrast, a faithful disciple is fully committed to a focused faith. Hand to the plow, looking straight ahead.
Are you fully committed or only half-hearted in your love and obedience to your Lord and Savior, Jesus? Is your faith merely a passing trend or genuine? Stay fully focused on Jesus, and you will experience the joy of a fruitful life. A dedicated life means staying on the long road of obedience and avoiding shortcuts that feed self-centeredness. You choose not to compromise even a little of your integrity, knowing that a life without regret is one that keeps looking forward into the face of your faithful heavenly Father. He sees you. He knows you. He wants what’s best for you. As my friend told me yesterday, I feel like I am His favorite. That’s how the real-time love of God reveals itself: You are His favorite, His beloved on whom His favor rests!
Half-hearted faith produces anxiety—constantly second-guessing decisions, envying others’ apparent success, feeling empty despite religious activity. Full commitment bears joyful fruit, rooted in knowing that you are aligned with grace and truth, that your life matters for eternal purposes, and that faithfulness itself brings satisfaction, regardless of immediate outcomes.
The fruit of fully focused faith lasts. Perhaps you’ve faithfully taught the Bible for decades as a volunteer, and now adult former students are raising their children with the biblical values you planted years ago. Your eternal investments are spreading across generations. Or as a recovering addict, you’ve stayed committed to Christ through a loving community, and now you mentor others struggling with addiction, creating a chain of freedom that reaches far beyond your initial focus on sobriety and faith in Jesus. Maybe you are a couple who chose contentment over materialism, generosity over accumulation. You raised children who value relationships over possessions and now serve others freely! Fully focused faith creates character, relationships, and Kingdom impact that endure long after initial commitment, continuing to bear fruit in people and places you may never see. Stay fully focused. Resist looking back and look ahead to see Jesus!
“…one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind and reaching forward to those things which are ahead, I press toward the goal for the prize…” (Philippians 3:13-14).
Prayer
Lord, keep my faith fully focused on You. Guard me from distraction, strengthen my resolve, and help me press forward with steady devotion, eyes fixed only on Christ. In Jesus’ name, amen.
Application
Where is the Lord calling you to be fully focused, not distracted?
Related Reading
Matthew 6:33; Colossians 3:2; Hebrews 12:2; James 1:6
Worship Resource
Hillsong Worship: New Wine
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