Are you easily distracted? I know I get distracted and sidetracked with so many different things grappling for my attention easily, that I find myself focused on things or opportunities that may not be what will serve me the best at that moment in time. Especially when I know I should be focused on other more important things, like obligations that relate to God. Distractions are those things that deter us from what we’re supposed to be doing, they seem to always pop up when we need them the least.
We live in the peak age of distractions, a time where we quite literally can have anything we want at the swipe of a fingertip. Advertisements are geared to have us mentally and physically everywhere we aren’t supposed to be. We are presented with so many different opportunities daily and repeatedly to do this or that. View this post or another. Believe in this new trend or way of living over another. Most notably, all of these different distractions can have us all potentially believing in so many different false securities and strongholds, that we are deaf to the only real and lasting security there is, God. This is why God reminds us all to stay sober-minded and be watchful of what works in our circumstances and lives (1 Peter 5:8). Because our enemy the devil is always near to sift us like wheat (Luke 22:31).
Do you hear God? If not, are you attempting to draw near to God to hear what He may be trying to tell you (James 4:8)? These are the questions I find asking myself as of late, and maybe you have too. Maybe you have pondered how you got to this point. Or does God still see or love you? But we have to wholeheartedly believe in Romans 8:35-39, in the fact that nothing can separate us from the love of Christ because our enemy the devil will continually try and make us question God’s love for ourselves at the end of the day. When we think of the devil and his plots, we usually think of the blatant or grand things that he does like us experiencing a terrible day or circumstances, or other negative things along those lines. Some of the time, we can indicate these are just the works of the devil and we try to immediately cling unto God to bring us through. We never think of the subtle ways that the enemy may try to attack us, distractions. I recently learned from a devotional that “the enemy knows that tempting you with evil will be obvious, so he will lure you with distractions, leaving you no time to carry out God’s will.”
Lately, I’ve been going through some challenging times, just like many of you have or currently are. The thing we all know as Christians is that anything is possible with God, especially if it aligns with God’s will (Matthew 19:26). But what are we to believe when our current circumstances don’t mirror the same lately, I’ve been going through some challenging times, just like many of you have or are. The thing we all know as Christians is that anything is possible with God, especially if it aligns with God’s will (Matthew 19:26). But what are we to believe when our current circumstances don’t mirror the same confidence that this verse’s passion embodies? What are we left to do? What do you do? I can attest I’ve fallen victim to unwisely spending my time on things that at that moment I did not need to be wasting my energy on. I bought into distractions. I’ve invested time, money, and energy into things that have become false idols in my life. I had put all of myself and my resources into false peace and security. Mainly due to growing weary amidst my challenges, God not answering my prayers at the expected moment in time I wanted him to, or me feeling disconnected from God entirely. In these moments of weakness, seeking God was the furthest thing from my mind. During these periods, I thought to myself if God wasn’t working for me, how could all of these things that the Bible mentions be beneficial for me: like fasting or praying work then? So, the distractions became a safety net or excuse that I felt satisfied with on why I didn’t want to seek or be around God. In actuality, when things seem to be far from where we expect or want them to be, is when we should seek God the most, not the opposite.
Those false idols that I came into contact with became what ultimately only God has the right to be. The head over of my life, your life, and all our lives. These false idols, securities, or distractions have the potential to drag us down and blind us to what we may need to do, to what God may be instructing us to do. We may miss God’s beckoning for our hearts and minds. You may wonder how do we not stay blind with so many distractions in our everyday lives that compete for our attention and allegiance. (Ephesians 5:15-16 NLT) lamentations about how we all should live, especially as Christians, “So be careful how you live. Don’t live like fools, but like those who are wise. Make the most of every opportunity in these evil days.”
If you gain nothing from all of these words, I hope we can decipher and identify the distractions that may be within your own life and be real with ourselves.
A quote I love that I heard almost a decade ago and try to live by is, “People make time for the people and things that they want to make time for”. So, are we making time for our relationship with God?
