By Jen Finley
My internet browser is often pretty chaotic. At any given time, I have at least 20 tabs open. Some are important. Some are random. Some I opened days ago for a project I meant to work on but haven’t gotten to yet.
Sometimes there’s even a video playing in one of them, and I can’t figure out where the sound is coming from or how to turn it off!
The more tabs I have open, the slower everything runs. My laptop takes longer to load. My programs freeze. I find myself distracted, flipping from one open tab to the next without really focusing on any of them.
I’m sure I’m not the only one. You’re trying to work on something important, but the open tabs pull your attention in so many directions that you end the day wondering: What did I actually get done today?
Our lives can be just like that. I feel like at any given time, I have at least 50 tabs open in my mind. In my current role as a superintendent, I flip back and forth between things like conference consolidation, finance issues, committee meetings, and local church issues. Add to that all of the other tabs like:
- Family responsibilities.
- Church and community commitments.
- Decisions to make.
- Bills to pay.
- Worries about the future.
- Anxieties about the present.
We find ourselves exhausted just flipping back and forth from one tab to the next. And here’s the thing: they’re not all bad. In fact, most of them are important.
But when there are too many, our hearts get scattered. Our energy gets drained, and our focus gets fuzzy.
That’s true in our life with Christ. When too many things compete for our attention, we can lose sight of the One Thing that should be at the center of it all.
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“Surrender is the spiritual act of closing competing tabs, good or bad, so that Christ isn’t just open; He’s front and center.”
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Now Scripture doesn’t talk about browser tabs, of course, but it does talk about this issue of One Thing. Over and over, we see moments where people are brought to a point of focus where everything else fades away and One Thing becomes clear.
For example, picture the scene from Mark 10. A wealthy young man — moral, respected, successful — runs up to Jesus and kneels before Him. He asks the right question: “Good Teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?”
Jesus reminds him of the commandments, and he says, “I’ve kept all these since I was young.”
Then comes the moment of truth: Jesus looks at him and loves him.
“One thing you lack,” He says. “Go, sell everything you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow Me.”
It’s important to note here that Jesus didn’t say, “Add one more thing to your to-do list.” He said, “One thing you lack.”
The issue wasn’t that the man didn’t care about God. It was that something else was sitting in the center of his heart.
The “wealth” tab was front and center in his life, and Jesus knew it had to be closed before the One Thing could truly take its place.
For some of us, the challenge isn’t that we’ve never opened the “Jesus” tab — it’s that other tabs keep pushing Him into the background. Sometimes the One Thing requires us to surrender.
Surrender is the spiritual act of closing competing tabs, good or bad, so that Christ isn’t just open; He’s front and center.
It’s choosing to put Jesus at the top of the screen of our lives, letting His Word set the agenda, and allowing the Spirit to mute every other voice until His is the one we follow. Sometimes the One Thing requires us to surrender.
Called to Be Witnesses
Think about the man we see in John 9. He’s never seen a sunrise, his parents’ faces, or a smile. His world was darkness until Jesus stepped in. Jesus heals him, and for the first time in his life, light floods his world.
But instead of celebrating, the religious leaders put him on trial. They interrogate him. They try to trap him into saying Jesus is a sinner.
His response is simple and powerful: “Whether He is a sinner or not, I don’t know. One thing I do know: I was blind, and now I see!”
That was his One Thing — his testimony.
He didn’t have all the theological answers. He couldn’t win a debate with the Pharisees. But he knew what Jesus had done for him, and no one could take that away.
We may not be able to answer every question people ask us about our faith, and that’s OK. Jesus never called us to win arguments. He called us to be witnesses. Witnesses don’t have to know everything. They simply tell what they’ve seen and heard.
We can always tell our story. The One Thing might simply be: This is what Jesus has done in my life.
Or remember the story of Mary and Martha (Luke 10:38-42). Jesus comes to their home. Martha does what many of us would do: She works hard to serve. She’s cooking, setting the table, making sure everything is ready.
But Mary? She’s sitting at Jesus’ feet, listening.
Martha gets upset: “Lord, don’t you care that my sister has left me to do the work by myself? Tell her to help me!”
But Jesus replies: “Martha, Martha, you are worried and upset about many things, but few things are needed — or indeed only one. Mary has chosen what is better, and it will not be taken away from her.”
Martha’s service wasn’t a bad thing. In fact, it was good. But the good had crowded out the best.
Mary had closed all the other tabs so she could focus on Jesus.
Sometimes we can be so busy doing things for Jesus that we stop actually being with Jesus. We serve, plan, organize, and pour ourselves out, but our souls quietly run dry.
Like Martha, we can become worried and upset about many things, while neglecting the One Thing that matters most. Sometimes the most important and necessary thing we can do is put down the work, silence the noise, and simply sit at His feet: listening, resting, and letting His presence refill what our activity has drained.
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“Closing those tabs isn’t denying the past. It’s entrusting it to Jesus so we can fully pursue Him in the present.”
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Think about the Apostle Paul. His life was full: planting churches, mentoring leaders, writing letters, enduring persecution.
Yet he says, “One thing I do: forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus” (Philippians 3:13-14).
Paul had learned to close the tabs of the past, both failures and successes, so he could keep Jesus front and center.
Some of us can’t focus on the One Thing because we still have old tabs open: regrets we replay, shame we carry, hurts we haven’t released. They keep running in the background, draining our spiritual attention.
Paul reminds us to forget what is behind and press on toward what is ahead. Closing those tabs isn’t denying the past. It’s entrusting it to Jesus so we can fully pursue Him in the present.
Then there’s David: a king, a warrior, a leader. He had battles to fight, politics to manage, and personal problems to solve.
Yet he writes: “One thing I ask from the Lord, this only do I seek: that I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life, to gaze on the beauty of the Lord and to seek Him in His temple” (Psalm 27:4).
Gifts Are Not the Goal
David could have asked for victory, wealth, or long life. But his heart longed for God Himself.
Because here’s the truth: The One Thing isn’t a blessing from God. It’s God Himself! His gifts are good, but they’re not the goal. The deepest joy, peace, and purpose come not from what God gives, but from who God is. Everything else — no matter how wonderful — is secondary to knowing and loving Him.
But we often miss the One Thing. We get overwhelmed with the noise of life. Constant alerts, notifications and ongoing demands keep us from being still with God.
Sometimes we give in to the myth of multitasking. We think we can split our focus between God and everything else. But divided attention produces shallow relationship.
Our priorities become misplaced. Even good things become bad things when they push God out of the center. Even good things become bad things when they keep us from the best thing.
I know we don’t intentionally abandon the One Thing. It happens over time, as our self-reliance replaces daily dependence on Him.
Think about all those tabs that are open on your computer. Each one is probably useful: an article you’re reading, an email you’re writing, maybe a Facebook post to which you’re responding.
But when they’re all running at once, the system slows down. Pages take longer to load. Sometimes you get the spinning wheel of death.
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“We invite God into ordinary tasks, so that every moment throughout our day can be a moment of worship.”
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Our souls work the same way. When we pursue too many priorities — whether family, work, finances, relationships, or future plans — our energy gets divided.
I love what missionary and theologian E. Stanley Jones once explained: “Your capacity to say no will determine your capacity to say yes to greater things.”
Sometimes I wonder if no is a holy word, to allow us to focus on what God wants us to do. What things do we need to say no to, so that we can say yes to what God has for us?
We try to hold everything at the same level of importance, but, in reality, not everything can be first.
And the real danger in our lives? The urgent drowns out the important.
The One Thing isn’t a project, a role, or some kind of spiritual achievement. It’s a relationship. It’s knowing, loving, and enjoying Jesus. Everything else flows from there.
When Jesus is the very first open tab in our lives:
- Our priorities align.
- Our yes and no become clearer.
- Our peace deepens, even when life is overwhelming.
Because the One Thing doesn’t remove responsibilities. It fuels them. His presence gives clarity when we’re confused, grace when we’re irritated, and wisdom when we’re unsure.
So we give God the first tab. Before email, news, social media, or work demands. We refocus throughout our days as we pray: “Lord, You are my One Thing.”
We invite God into ordinary tasks, so that every moment throughout our day can be a moment of worship.
Imagine a life with Jesus as the One Thing:
- His presence is our anchor.
- His voice is the compass.
- His joy is the fuel.
Imagine your family seeing peace instead of constant stress. Imagine your co-workers noticing grace instead of frustration. Imagine living from overflow instead of exhaustion.
A life like that isn’t just possible. It’s the life into which Jesus invites us.
Because one day, all the earthly tabs will close. Jobs will end. Projects will be finished. Even our most important responsibilities will fade away.
But the One Thing, the presence of Jesus, will remain forever.
Close the unnecessary tabs. Put the One Thing in front. Let’s give Him our full attention.
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Jen Finley is the superintendent of the Wabash/New South Conference. She previously served as the lead pastor of John Wesley Free Methodist Church in Indianapolis, the church relations director for International Child Care Ministries (ICCM), and the director of outpatient services for a psychiatric hospital in the Chicago area. She is a licensed clinical professional counselor with a Bachelor of Arts degree in psychology/religion and English from Greenville University and a Master of Arts degree in counseling from Roosevelt University. She has been married for 27 years to Jeff, Light + Life’s executive editor, and is the mother of Drew, a high school student.
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