We must maintain our focus on Jesus, because conflict can consume the time, energy, and attention needed to do what God wants us to do. When you allow every conflict to pull you in another direction, your focus suffers, and the work God has given you suffers with it.
We are living in a critical time, and we cannot afford to spend our potential following distractions. That is why we must recognize what pulls our attention away and remain focused on what God wants done right now.
Maintain Focus in a Critical Time
Pastor Lane Farley shared that, while praying on Monday, the Lord impressed on him the need to speak to others about focus. With the world "on fire" and our church in the middle of a building program, the instruction was direct: maintain your focus at all cost.
Those pressures were present when the instruction came. Keeping our focus could not wait until the world settled down or the building program was finished.
We must understand that keeping our focus is essential to victory. Conflict can demand our attention while the work God wants accomplished remains before us. The responsibility is to stay focused even while those pressures are present.
Recognize Where Conflict Comes From
Conflict doesn't always come from the same source. God may allow us to enter into conflict, the devil may cause conflict, and sometimes we create our own conflict.
We must keep those distinctions clear. We cannot blame the devil for every conflict when some conflict comes through our own choices. Neither should we assume that the presence of conflict means God has lost control of the situation.
Whatever its source, conflict can pull you away from what God wants you to do if you allow it. That warning places a responsibility before us: we must guard our attention rather than surrender it to every difficulty that arises.
Don’t Follow Every Distraction

Conflict can take you to the left, then to the right, then down "bunny trails" and into "bunny holes." All the while, the potential being spent on those distractions could have been directed toward what God wants accomplished now.
One of the devil's tricks is to keep people confused, looking here and looking there. Attention keeps moving, but the work God has given us doesn't receive the focus it needs.
We must put God's priorities first rather than allow every distraction to determine where our attention goes. The issue is what receives our time and potential while the conflict continues.
Don’t Be Pulled Into Someone Else’s Conflict
The warning went further than dealing with conflict already in our lives:
"Do not allow others to pull you into their conflict."
Pastor Farley repeated the point plainly: "It's none of your business." Getting into somebody else's business can take the attention that belongs to what God has given you to accomplish.
The costs he named were time, energy, and spirituality. Those are serious costs. When another person's conflict consumes them, your ability to focus suffers, and you can become unable to achieve what God wants you to achieve right now.
We must take that warning seriously. Someone else's conflict doesn't automatically become our responsibility simply because they invite us into it.
Keep Attention on What God Wants Done Now
The repeated emphasis is on what God wants done right now. We must not become so occupied with conflict that we neglect the direction He has already given.
That also means we cannot keep asking for future direction while setting aside obedience in the present. What God has already made clear deserves our attention today.
Hebrews 12:2 directs us to look to Jesus. We can keep praying and turning our attention toward Him while difficulty remains. We don't have to wait until every conflict is resolved before giving Him our attention and responding to His direction.
Stay Focused on Jesus
Conflict must not consume the potential God has given us for His work. We must guard our attention and refuse to let someone else's dispute take over the time and strength needed for our own responsibilities.
What God wants accomplished right now deserves our focus. Focus on Jesus.












