We’ve all been in a space where we’ve gotten completely distracted, lost sight of God, our goals, our purpose, and the things that usually require our full attention. We tend to go through the motions and ignore the tugs on our hearts that remind us to stay focused. It happens easily when we lack foundation and are not rooted in who we are and in who God has called us to be. Sometimes to get our attention, God will shake our world up and have everything fall apart, and when it all falls apart, it falls into His hands.
In this day and age, distractions come a mile a minute. Between today’s media, people’s need to stay busy in the name of “productivity”, and just life in general, it is hard to give attention to the things that actually take time, that aren’t quick and easy fixes or quick and easy projects. In Black culture, we have a saying called “rippin’ and runnin’ the streets,” which means that a person is always on the go, rarely ever home, and always out doing something. This is a term that would perfectly describe my habits and the way I tend to live my life. On top of rippin’ and runnin’ the streets, I also have my road/roll dawgs, whichever you prefer, with me. So even with my busy schedule, I never was alone. I’d have friends with me while running errands and making stops. I even have two of the people closest to me as coworkers. My point is, rarely am I ever alone. Rarely did I stop and take time to think about and plan out my life, assess my goals and where I’m at, and the most detrimental to me – rarely did I set aside time for just God and I.
One thing you have to consider when you’re living a busy life is your priorities. For me, as much as I want to say I’ve made my relationship with God a priority, my actions haven’t reflected that.
God can get real creative in the ways He chooses to reach us. For me, it was having to quarantine for roughly 2 weeks. I was no longer out all day and only at home when it was time to sleep. I spent 2 weeks in the four walls of my room just by myself. Even with the daily talks through my doorway with my family and the daily FaceTimes with my friends, I still felt a sense of loneliness and a lack of productivity. That’s when I realized that God was trying to get my attention. Not only did I have to quarantine, but so much was going on in my personal life and I didn’t have the company of my friends to bring the comfort they usually do. All I really had were my prayers. In isolation, God will reveal Himself to you if you allow Him to. Isolation can be dangerous for a lot of people, leading to depression, sadness, and negative thoughts, but for me, it was where I felt like I could hear God clearly. God had to separate me from all the noise and distractions to make a few things clear to me. One, I am nothing without Him. I cannot get comfortable with having a surface-level relationship with Him. Two, the things and people I am gifted in my life are there to make things easier, not to replace Him. Lastly, I am loved by Him – in my loneliness and isolation I was comforted in knowing who I belong to.
