This week on Geek Devotions, Celeste talks about the real downfall of Vanya (Number 7) on The Umbrella Academy. It’s what she focuses on. What if we told you that the downfall of many is very similar to Vanya’s… their focus. Often people will focus on their grief and guilt to the point that they are driven to continue down the wrong path.

Today we are talking about the new Netflix original Called the Umbrella Academy. For those of you who haven’t seen it here is your spoilers warning.

***SPOILERS***

Throughout the series one of the plots is that #7 or Vanya is the only child that is powerless. When in all actuality she has powers that ate so great that she takes medication to keep them suppressed. In the Finale Vanya is using her power about to reach what looks like a critical mass, strangling the men she knows as brothers because she is focusing on the fact that they lied to her about her powers and she feels better. Hurt. Angry at them and everyone and anyone else who has treated her like an outcast. She is so focused on that anger she can neither see nor hear anything else. The sound of her own heartbeat is what is driving her breakdown. The woman she considers a sister comes behind her and can either shoot her in the back of the head or let her brothers die. Allison chooses to use the gun as a distraction from what Vanya is go using on and shoots Right next to her ear causing her to lose her focus on how angry she is.

In 2nd Samuel we see a lot of things happening in King Davids Life. He stayed home from war and allowed his lust to be his focus. From their, he focused on the guilt he felt from acting on that lust. The focusing on the guilt of what he had done led him to murder, covering it up, and ultimately bringing the repercussions of these actions not just on Himself but also his family. Now. David repents, deals with the consequences of his actions and is still known as a man after God’s heart. But David had some help. See David had a relationship with the prophet Nathan. Nathan came to the king and told him a story, that outlined the things that David had done. And then turned that story around to bring about the point that King David had some serious repenting to do, and also outlined the fact that the repercussions of the seeds that were sown would be long-lasting. It took a person with a close relationship to draw that focus off of the guilt and hiding the guilt to bring King Davids Attention to what needed to happen.

Devoted Geeks, if your attention is on the bad, the guilt, the sadness of something you will be focusing on the wrong things, and will potentially cause issues that you have to deal with later.
Philippians even warns us about these things!

“Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things.”
Philippians 4:8 ESV

We are instructed to think about the things of God, to put our focus on what is “lovely.” These are things that help us keep our ultimate focus on God. And as long as we are focused on God, then all things will work out for our good. And if you need someone to help you focus on these things, get a friend, a spouse, a sister, a brother to help keep you in check. To fill than Nathan role in your life so that if you start to focus on not godly things, if you start to hide guilt, they can come and help you see where you went off the rails.

So if you are a person that struggles to find the positive in things. Here is my challenge to you. At the end of each day, find 3 good things about the day. Doesn’t matter how bad the day was, finding those 3 things will help you to focus on the lovely.