Distraction Awareness
We have all had plenty of experience with distraction in our lives. Kids distract us. Pets distract us. Our phone distracts us. Even our own minds can distract us. It doesn’t matter how important the task is at hand, at any time we can easily fall victim to being distracted. There are times that my husband and I are talking and our dogs will do something funny and by the time we are done laughing, we look at each other and say, “Ok, what were we talking about?” That quick... distraction creeps in and derails our conversation and even our memory.
A very sad but true statistic is that in the United States, 1.6 million crashes each year are from cell phone use. In particular, 1 out of every 4 car accidents is caused by texting and driving. A very avoidable distraction that causes people their life.
Our vulnerability with distraction can make us easy prey when it comes to the cunning and crafty nature of the Devil. And don’t be fooled… THIS ALSO MEANS OUR LIFE!
He doesn’t always go for the 1 punch knock out. He knows that when our roots are deep, we can spot that a mile away and we hang on tighter to the Lord and battle through to our victory. However, the little distractions can be harder to spot. All of the sudden, we’ve missed a day of our quiet time with the Lord. Then two. Then a week. Our Bible suddenly goes from the table to inside the drawer. We stop singing along with our worship station and start channel surfing. We decide to just watch church on TV this week, instead of going in person because it’s all the same right?
Little by little, one step at a time, we reason ourselves right out of the presence of God.
I say this because I have experienced every single one of those distractions myself. In my mind, I had a good reason. I figured, “God knows it’s not personal and that I still love him. Things have been SO busy!” But one day when I noticed the changes in my routine, or should I say the subtractions in my day, I stopped to think… God is NEVER too busy to give me his best. Jesus was NEVER too busy for those that needed him when he was on this earth.
The old “I’m just so busy,” sinful reasoning was a lie that I was telling myself to make my life (and conscience) comfortable. I was not too busy to stop and eat during the day, or go see my friends, or go for a run, or catch up on my social media. But somehow I was “too busy” to give God the firstfruits of my day, my time, my life? Mmmmm.
I do not shame myself or you because the Lord is not interested in us sitting in shame or guilt. He IS however quite interested in our repentance and our willingness to turn around and try again. So, I encourage you and myself in the process, to turn and face the Lord and ask that he forgive the sin of our “busy” selfishness. Prioritize the Lord in your day and your life. Give him the best spot in your day… He deserves it.
Titus 3:3-7 “At one time we too were foolish, disobedient, deceived and enslaved by all kinds of passions and pleasures… But when the kindness and love of God our Savior appeared, he saved us, not because of righteous things we had done, but because of his mercy. He saved us through the washing of rebirth and renewal by the Holy Spirit, whom he poured out on us generously through Jesus Christ our Savior, so that having been justified by his grease, we might become heirs having the hope of eternal life.”