We live in a world full of distractions. Dictionary.com defines distraction as that which distracts, divides the attention, or prevents concentration. Distractions can be annoying, time consuming, and dangerous. Annoying: You're trying to read something and that little gnat is tickling your ear. Time consuming: You sit down at your computer, determined to start that overdue project and the phone starts ringing. Dangerous: You're driving on the freeway and your text alert goes off. All of these things are dividing our attention and preventing concentration.
A documentary recently showed college students trying to multi-task while being monitored by researchers. The study showed that we human beings can really only focus on one thing at a time. We think we're doing things simultaneously but we're not. What we can do is switch our attention from task to task extremely quickly. So anything that takes us away from our main goal is a distraction. Maybe you've heard the term, 'Rabbit trails.' A rabbit trail is anything that takes us off the main road. Let's say we go out into the woods to photograph deer but we get so distracted by the rabbit trails that we never get to the deer. Hence, we come back with nothing.
If there are natural distractions, there are also spiritual distractions. They're one of the enemy's most effective weapons. He loves to get us out on rabbit trails. There seems to be a trend for ministries to focus on all the evil in the world, but is that really what God has called us to do? Do you know the best way to find all the sandspurs in your carpet? The answer is simple: take your shoes off and start walking. You'll find every one of them. Are there devils around us? Oh, yes. We live in a fallen world. Evil is all around us. But the good news is so is God and His angels outnumber the fallen ones two to one!
Luke 2:49 (NKJV) says: And He said to them, "Why did you seek Me? Did you not know that I must be about My Father's business?" Yeshua was about His Father's business, a man on a mission with undivided attention and perfect concentration. He knew what His job was and He was about it. His final command to us here on earth began with: "Go into all the world and proclaim the gospel to the whole creation." Sure, we'll encounter demons along the way while proclaiming, but He didn't say for us to get out our magnifying glasses and try to expose every evil spirit. Don't be fooled. We should be vigilant and aware of the enemy's tactics, but let's not spend all our valuable time trying to be a spiritual Sherlock Holmes.
Just like our computers need to reboot, we need to refocus from time to time. How do we do this? Start by praying. Then take whatever steps necessary. It might take focusing on doing a few things really good instead of doing a lot of things mediocre. Put your devices on silent while driving. Close unnecessary windows while working on the PC. Don't stop to answer the phone or text while working on a project unless it's an emergency. They say that every time we stop to answer the phone while working, we lose 20 minutes of productivity.
Yeshua our Messiah is soon to return. We need to make every minute count. The world needs the message that's been given to us. Let's resist the rabbit trails and stay on the main road, proclaiming the good news of the gospel while the daylight hours are upon us. Turn your focus lens one small click today and see a big difference. By the way, we may have to put up with the gnats. Either they stowed away on the ark or they can hover a really, really long time. After all they are God's creatures too. Until next time, Shalom.
Picture originally found here
