Target Fixation
by Paul Lawrence
During World War II a fixation was studied called target fixation. Target fixation was used to describe fighter bombers who flew straight into the targets they were trying to shoot down or bomb. The pilots became so fixated on the target that they forgot to take the action needed to avoid it and ended up colliding with it. The same can happen with motorcyclists and mountain bikers. Instead of looking ahead at where they are going, they can get fixated on trying to miss an obstacle in front of them as it gets closer and closer, and then they hit it, even though they were trying their hardest to miss it. The motorcyclist or cyclist will tend to go where they are looking.
Today as you read this, the question is; are you target fixated? If you are, what target fixation do you currently have?
If our target fixation is on self and looking at all the problems and situations we are in, we can become so target fixated on these things that we end up going deeper and deeper into them and end up crashing, like the cyclist or the bomber pilot. We can also become so fixated with the world around us and what the enemy is doing that we forget where our target fixation should be. We can become target fixated as we focus on our neighbours in the wrong way, our past, our health, our work situation, family situation or work colleague. If you`re like the World War II fighter pilot, and have these or other fixations, it`s time to pull up, pull out and re-focus.
We should be fixing our eyes on the Lord. The Psalmist talks about looking unto the hills to see where our help comes from (Psalm 121).
The New Testament tells us: ‘Keep your eyes on Jesus, who both began and finished this race we`re in. Study how he did it. Because he never lost sight of where he was headed - that exhilarating finish in and with God - he could put up with anything along the way: cross, shame, whatever. And now he`s there, in the place of honour, right alongside God’ (Hebrews 12:2, The Message).
There’s a song that says: ‘Turn your eyes upon Jesus, look full into His wonderful face and the things of this world will grow strangely dim in the light of his glory and grace’.
Turning our eyes off the problems and fixing them on Jesus is real target fixation and something we actually want to hit!!
Prayer: Father, I want to lay all the things that I am fixated on at Your feet today. I choose to stop focusing on them and to focus on You. I entrust all the fixations I have into Your care today and ask for Your will to be done in each one of them, and Your help in each of these situations. Amen.
Paul Lawrence is the Centre Director at Ellel Grange, UK and is married to Anne, who is the Deputy Centre Director for the Grange. He has lived in Africa for over 20 years and China for 5 years. His passion is to see the Lord do bigger and greater things in peoples lives that they cannot do on their own, not just in healings but also in the fun things of life. His belief is that nothing is ever big enough and as a team we can achieve anything if the Lord is at the centre.
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