Sticks and Stones Can Break Our Focus

Psalm 123

Verse 4 We have endured no end of ridicule from the arrogant, of contempt from the proud.

We know that the Lord doesn’t look down on us with scorn but that doesn’t mean that those around us in the world look at us in the same way.

One of the hardest times to worship is when others are making fun of us for our faith. These may be times when it causes us to question if our faith is strong enough to hold up. While it may be difficult to worship in the midst of scoffers we will find that it comes down to focus. If we remember the right direction of focus we will fare better than if we get side-tracked.

When we are in the midst of being mocked it is easy to be consumed by what is going on around us. We find ourselves looking around at who is talking about us and thinking about what they are saying about us. More often than not what they are saying is full of lies and we should not entertain those thoughts as we don’t want lies to become so repetitive in our thinking that we start believing them.

Another danger of focusing on those around us during these times is that we become so world focused we forget that this earth isn’t the only thing there is. We bring our focus to the lowly things of this earth and we start seeing all the reasons for doubts. Doubts hinder our praise and the enemy likes nothing better than to turn our heart from praise of the Almighty God.

This is the other perspective, the one that will bring us to the desired place of worship of the Almighty. While it is hurtful and distractive to be mocked and scorned, we need to keep our focus where the psalmist started us out, looking up to the God of heaven and see Him on His throne. He needs to be our focus. Jesus said that we would face opposition because He faced it and a servant isn’t better than their Master. So while it goes against human thinking, we need to remember that having persecution for living with Christ as Lord, we should rejoice because it means that we are being scorned because of Him (Matthew 5:11-12).

Making It Personal

Do you struggle with keeping your focus on God when you are being mocked for being a Christian? How do you respond to being mocked about your faith? What steps can you do to make sure your focus is right?

Making It Personal Kids

Have you ever had someone make fun of your relationship with Jesus? What should you do when they pick on you about being a friend of Jesus? How can you make sure you stay focused on Jesus all the time?

Closing Prayer

Father, thank You for being with us all the time and reminding us that there will be times when others will be making comments to us that hurt because of our relationship with You. Give us the strength needed to stand in the midst of mocking and help us remember to keep our focus on You. In Jesus’ name, amen.