How to Fight the Struggle of Distraction
I lay in my hammock and enjoy the breeze of the day. Laying on my hammock has become my happy place.
During quarantine we spent so much time in our yard and have made it an oasis during this time of drought. We have planted seeds and watched them grow, we have cleaned, we have created a place of rest.
I begin to pray and spend time with Jesus, fully intending to leave all the stress and worries and anxieties at His feet. There are so many things that make my heart break. The chaos of the world, the sickness, the economy, the conversations I am having with my children, and the simple struggle for a sweet summer.
It all falls heavily on my shoulders.
I begin to pray an
d in a few moments I start watching a butterfly. I pull my phone out and click on my email, then see a Facebook notification. I reply to a friends response to a picture I had posted. I check my Instagram and before I know it I’ve been scrolling for 10 minutes.
I put my phone away and start to pray once more, because the heaviness is real…quickly forgotten, but real.
I bring a situation to the Lord, but my phone dings. I get a text message from my friends. I encourage a friend who is struggling. I lay back into the hammock and start to swing it back and forth. I’m lulled into a light sleep. My kids come out. They start to swim and the quiet time I was seeking with Jesus is gone.
My heart was yearning for time with Jesus and yet, I gave way to interruptions.
My desire to cast all my cares on him was hindered because I chose distraction over devotion.
I chose comfort over my Comforter. I chose social media over my Savior. I chose responding to a friend over relinquishing my cares to my Redeemer.
These days have allowed me to recognize how much I contend with distractions on a daily basis. We live in a world of distractions.
A world full of busy. A world full of hustle. A world full of multi-tasking, stress, and a need to do it all.
But during these days, where life has sort of come to a halt and all the things have ceased for a time, my eyes have been open to this ploy of distraction.
Distraction causes us to move from a place of devotion to a place of division.
Distraction divides our hearts and minds.
Distraction pulls at us, making us uncertain, overwhelmed and ultimately discouraged.
The enemy has been distracting us for far too long, because he knows, if he can get us distracted, he can pull us away from our purpose.
We are called to disciple, to be encourages, to grow fruit in abundance, to meet with Jesus daily and to love well. When the enemy distracts us, we fail to fulfill any of these purposes.
He is so subtle. He doesn’t wave a flashing sign that says detour in front of us as we meander through life! He begins very subtly…his distraction begin in the daily interruptions, simple diversions and small hindrances.
He lulls us to sleep, numbing us to the pain and the suffering, like some anesthesia. We start to believe that if we distract ourselves from the chaos and stress, we will forget.
As time moves on, we find ourselves completely overwhelmed by all the interference and we have shifted our focus from God to ourselves.
All the while making the choice to allow for these distractions!
John 10:10 says “The thief comes to steal, kill and destroy.”
He steals a little bit of time, which over time kills our relationship with our savior and soon after, we find ourselves in destruction.
How do we fight the struggle of distraction?
In Acts 2:42, Luke writes that those in first century church “devoted themselves to the apostles teaching and to fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer.”
Devotion is what we need to fight the pull of distraction.
We must consistently show up and meet with Jesus. We must be persistent in fighting against the things that distract us.
We must be devoted to the word of God and his teachings, devoted to other believers and to communion. We must be devoted to prayer.
If we allow the enemy to lull us into comfort, he will come in to steal, kill and destroy.
How will you devote yourself to His calling and fight against the struggle of distraction? This is an everyday of your life kind of struggle. It is real. It is subtle. It is deadly.
Devote yourself to Christ. Show up daily at his feet. Be persistent in fighting the simple, every day, even seemingly good distractions.
If you desire devotion to Christ then nothing should get in the way of that time with him.
Turn your phone off! Can it be that simple? Yes! And if you see a butterfly floating away, just praise Him for his creation!
Schedule your time. It’s hard to set aside an hour of your day completely devoted to bible study and prayer. Seriously, most of us will fail at that. The few times I could set time aside to that extent was when I was in college and during the summers when I wasn’t teaching and had no children! Nowadays kids get up early or need something always! So if your situation is similar, schedule your time in small blocks.
Wake up with a prayer on your lips. 10 minutes (yes that’s it) before you need to get up, greet the Holy Spirit and invite him into your day. Praise God for the morning. Ask for his intervention in any of the struggle you will face.
Before you open any apps, open the YouVersion Bible app first. Look at the scripture of the day. Read it once, twice. Close your phone and meditate on it. Write it down. In college, we use to write verses on our bathroom mirrors to keep each other accountable. You can create an image on the bible app and make that your wall paper for the day on your phone so that you read it and pray that verse each time you open your phone.
Make some time in the afternoon to read and study your bible. This can take as much time as you need. Be Still Beloved makes this very simple and easy if you need a place to start.
Breath prayers throughout your day. Seek God in your daily life. Praise Him for the food, the laughter, the sunshine. Find him in every aspect of your life.
Have friends to be accountable to daily. Send a text message of what God has taught you. Pray with your people. Be in communion with other believers. Join our Be Still, Beloved Facebook group and engage in daily scripture reading and discussion.
Spend a few minutes praying. Interceding. Take one person a day and pray for them. Find a scripture to pray over them. If you are struggling with a certain situation, spend time surrendering it through prayer to Christ. Set it as his feet and find promises in God’s word that will help you in the struggle.
