DISTRACTED

I must admit that one of my biggest downfalls is that I have a tendency to become easily distracted.  I find myself making excuses for my inability to concentrate for very long at a task.  Even though I do have a lot on my mind at all times with kids, grandkids, homeschooling, church activities and trying to minister to others, this is definitely one of the biggest areas in which I desperately need improvement. As a result of my failure to stay completely focused at times while driving, I’ve had the pleasure of being introduced to several very nice law enforcement officers. Even though they all were quite pleasant and I haven’t been issued any tickets thankfully, I’m always embarrassed at the predicaments that could’ve been easily avoided if I’d only been more attentive. 
 

One such incident occurred several weeks ago while riding along in the car with my daughters.  My oldest daughter was still becoming familiar with driving in some of the areas of the town where we live.  Everything seemed to be going along great until I got the brilliant idea to show her a beautiful old home that I had driven by the week before.  I enjoy looking at the architecture and design of homes and especially admire landscapes and gardens.  Instead of driving all the way around the block to get to this gorgeous mansion, I thought it would be easier to take a short cut.

I had not realized before that the road in front of this home was a one way street.  She began questioning my driving instructions as she noticed the “One Way” sign, but I was so enamored with staring at the amazing gardens and grounds of this home that I was not paying attention to the signs.  I told her to go ahead and turn down the wrong way on the “One way” street!  Against her better judgment, she began to go around the corner just as a police car pulled up on the opposite side of the street.

Once I saw the police officer, my attention was immediately engaged in what was actually taking place.  We were just a few feet from hitting his nice shiny car as we rounded the corner.  I’ll never forget the angry surprised look of disapproval on his face as long as I live!  He was also making a rounding motion with his fingers but we didn’t understand what he was trying to communicate.  We then proceeded to climb up over the curb and thankfully missed colliding with him.  I then realized that we must’ve served as some sort of comic relief for him as his look of horror and anger turned to laughter and a huge friendly smile.

We stopped, rolled down the window, and informed him that we had realized our mistake and asked for forgiveness.  Thankfully he was a kind hearted forgiving sort of person.  He allowed us to back up, turn around and be on our way without a ticket or warning of which we are eternally grateful.  Always striving to find the positive aspect in these embarrassing situations, we were at least thankful that we had brightened someone’s day with laughter.

Right away the Holy Spirit was convicting me of my lack of attentiveness in giving proper driving directions to my daughter.  I was wrong to allow myself to become enticed by the pretty flower gardens instead of keeping my eyes on the road ahead of us.  Spiritually speaking, this whole ordeal caused me to realize that I need to be more focused on the most important things in life and not allow myself to be so easily distracted by the temporal.  I’m often led away by my selfish desires instead of focusing on what God has me here to do.

We’re all distracted by little things every day that channel our focus to the temporal instead of the eternal.  As I think of all of these distractions I’m reminded of Jesus’ warning in John 10:10, “The thief does not come except to steal, and to kill, and to destroy.”  If Satan cannot kill us or destroy our lives through sin we get involved in, he will attack us by tempting us to divert our attention to things that don’t matter and steal our time.  If Satan tried his best to distract Jesus Christ from fulfilling God’s purposes for bringing salvation to the world through the cross, we had better be on guard to how he attempts to lure us away as well. 2 Cor. 2:11, “Lest Satan should take advantage of us; for we are not ignorant of his devices.”

There are a plethora of distractions in Satan’s arsenal that He continually uses to get our eyes off accomplishing eternal things for God’s kingdom.  Maybe you yourself can relate to how I have fallen prey to some of Satan’s devices concerning distractions in my life?  Have you also involved yourselves in all of the “good” things that steal your time away each day instead of us focusing on the “best” things?  Will all the time we spend on social media, hobbies, sports, music, leisure or entertainment last for eternity? Even educational pursuits, family functions or church activities can all be things but are these all the very best ways to spend God's time? Isn’t it just like Satan to use what is “good” to keep us from doing what is “best”!

Too often we allow the Devil to continue to throw our past sin in our face.  He whispers the lie that because of our past sin we have no business doing anything for God now. God makes it clear however in I John 1:9,“If we confess our sin He is faithful and just to forgive us our sin and cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” 

When He forgives our sin, it is forgiven as “far as the east is from the west… When Satan tries to torment us with our past sin, we need to stand firm and quote the Truth that refutes his lies and shuts him up. Our downfall comes only when we act helpless and forget about the power we have in Christ through His Word.  Our ultimate goal is to emulate Philippians 3:13, “…forgetting those things which are behind and reaching forward to those things which are ahead.”

Many times we’re distracted with the injustice of how others have mistreated us.  I used to be so wrapped up with my wounds that I wasted God’s valuable time choosing not to forgive offenders and was plagued with the guilt of my unconfessed sin.  I finally realized that it was Satan who sent those people to be used as pawns to hurt me and distract me from God’s plan. Our example to follow is found in God's Word, “Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another even as God for Christ’s sake has forgiven you.” Ephesians 4:32 When we’ve been hurt we must readily forgive as Christ forgives us, learn what God wanted us to learn in allowing those hurts and get back to the business of fulfilling His plan.

Has the Enemy kept you distracted by your past or present sin struggles? Have you been so wrapped up in the hurts of how you’ve been mistreated by others?  Are you spending your time participating in the “good” things in this life and neglect to fulfill the “best” God has for you to do?  When we reach the end of our lives will we regret all of the wasted years we spent caught up in temporal distractions?  Jesus calls us to follow Him, focus on His plan for us and accomplish the impossible for Him. These are the ONLY things that will truly last for eternity.