If you are distracted, you’re unfocused and preoccupied. You get easily sidetracked. You tend to veer off course if you see a shiny object. It’s hard to stay on-task.
Does that describe you?
There are so many things in life that distract us… both good and bad. And I’m afraid that unless we are intentional about calming our lives down to a more manageable pace, it will only get worse!
We can get distracted with:
- running our kids to and from activities.
- work that never seems to reach a manageable level.
- marriage troubles.
- DVR’s and TV’s… need I say more?
- keeping up with everyone else around us.
- obsessive volunteering.
- our appearances.
- fixing the problems of others.
The problem is that when I am distracted by life… I naturally become detached from God. And NOTHING should come between me and my Father.
Nothing should come between you and God either.
Friends, when you give anything or anybody more of your time and attention than you do God… you’ve literally replaced Him. Something or someone now holds that #1 spot reserved solely for our Father.
He’s not a fan of that.
Exodus 20:3 says “You shall have no other gods before me.” I see no room for argument with what God is saying in this verse. You? Nope… it’s pretty straight forward.
He goes on later to tell us in that passage of scripture (aka The 10 Commandments) that He is a jealous God. You see, He created us to be in a relationship with Him! So, when we turn our backs on Him completely or create such a whirlwind of chaos with our lives that we fly from one thing to the next, day in and day out… He is usually the casualty that takes the backseat.
Guilty. 🙁
So, what can we do to avoid the distractions and reverse the detachment we have towards our Creator? Try these:
- Before you even get out of bed, let God know you’re available. Pray “God this is Your day. Yes, I have an agenda… but I invite you to interrupt it and show me what you have for me today.” You’re telling God He’s a priority.
- Bring Him into your every day. Allow Him to be a part of the details. For example, “Wow God. Look at the sunset! Thanks for that!” or “I could really use a close parking spot today since it’s snowing!” He’s happily available to you 24/7.
- Be obedient to the Holy Spirit’s prompting. Be sensitive to your gut feeling to act. Make the call. Buy the coffee. Bring the meal. Watch the kids. Feed the stranger. Speak the kind word. Help the cause. Be the kind of person that God can count on to listen and help.
- Carve out some time to just sit alone with God. Be deliberate in creating alone time with God. Maybe it’s the 10 minutes before the kids jump into your car after school. Possibly it’s during your commute to work. Maybe it’s coffee on the back deck as your soak in the warm sun. Nurture your relationship.
- Ask for His help. Ask Him to help you love Him better. Ask Him to show you where to make those changes. Ask Him how to make your relationship stronger. Ask…
Distracted by life = Detached from God.
We weren’t created to be separated from our Creator. And honestly… in this world… we can’t afford to live that way.
©2010 careyscotttalks.com
Hmmm!! I was praying and got distracted by your post! Just kidding!! Good one!!!
What a Good Word! This week I have been overwhelmed by many things. My cat is sick again and is slowly leaving this world. I have a women’s event on Sunday that is at half attendance needed to meet our contract requirement. My ‘one day a week’ job is NOT one day! 🙂 Needless to say, I have been restless and though I have been seeking God to answer, I have had so much anxiety that I could not hear. For two weeks I have been struggling with a spiritual oppression, and personal anxiety. I knew I was under attack but could not find my way out.
So, I started a practice that I learned about this summer. With every inhale I breathed a word of truth, and with every exhale the response to it. This time I felt led to breathe in: “Jesus In Me,” and my response on the exhale: “Jesus through Me.”
Just BREATHING Jesus In and professing the truth that He is also working through me, regardless of feelings or attack BROKE the oppression. It took about an hour of ‘breathing’ His truth (while I was going on about life) but finally I broke through!
Just this morning a thought hit me – “Jesus is my strong tower, but if all I do is sit down and cry expecting God to bring the tower to me, I will not find the tower. Rather, I must get up and run TO his strong tower. This past week felt more like I was trudging through mud waist high. But when I finally decided to MOVE, to push in, I found His strong tower.