There’s a very simple reason distractions invade our lives.
What do you do to help yourself remain focused on what and Who brings light and life?
Tag: distractions
You’ve Got to Get the Kinks Out for the Blessings to Flow
In an attempt to save a bush in my front yard from the scorching heat wave we were having, I pulled our water hose over to it to give it a good soaking. It did not turn out to be a quick and easy task. The hose had knots that I had to untangle (a sign that my husband was the last one to use it since he hates to neatly coil it when he’s done). The hose also had kinks in it, places along the length of the hose where it was bent and would restrict the flow of the water.
I tried to get as many knots and kinks out of the hose as possible, but it was 110 degrees outside and I was not going to take the time to make it perfect! When I turned the water spigot, water came out of the hose but not at the free-flowing rate I expected. The remaining kinks in the hose were restricting the flow to a trickle.
Life can be like that hose. Distractions and hardships in life (for example, infertility) can make us think that we have to do all we can to make something happen. They cause great stress in our minds and bodies. Even our muscles can be like the hose and get kinks and knots in them when we are stressed. When we’re focusing on the problem and looking to ourselves or other people as the source of our solution, the resulting stresses can close off the supply of what we need, even though the supply is still freely flowing from the source, or should I say Source.
God really wants us to be blessed abundantly and He, as our Source, has made provision through Jesus to give us every good thing. The Bible instructs us to look to Jesus– to move our attention away from the troubles and fix our attention on His love and provision (Hebrews 12:2). His supply is always flowing from Him but the kinks that we allow in our lives can restrict the flow to a trickle, or even just a drop, by the time it gets to us.
What would happen if we just relax in God’s arms and trust Him? What would happen if we rest in Jesus’ work as being sufficient? Could we more fully receive and enjoy His peace, faithfulness and provision? Surely the kinks in our lives would relax, opening up the channel of supply from our Source so that we can receive abundantly!
What kink will you remove from your life today so you can enjoy the blessings that are already freely flowing in God’s pipeline to you?
Monday’s Marinade – Distractions
Your marinade for this week builds upon last week’s challenge. Distractions serve to hinder us from making decisions and taking action. As you begin this week by “soaking yourself” in the hope-filled Word of God, decide to not be distracted from the important things. Hebrews 12:2 encourages us to stay focused on Jesus, the One who wants nothing but the best for us and who empowers us to live our best life. Marinate and season your week with hope and a confident expectation of good things happening!
I Got Distracted
I got distracted last week.
On Saturday, 7/27/13, I woke up with a “little ache” in my lower back. By Saturday night, nausea and a headache had set in. Relief did not come even after using the pain reliever and heating pad. With no appetite, I endured the weekend of feeling yucky, eager for the doctor’s office to open on Monday morning. I was fortunate to get a same-day appointment. Diagnosis? Just a viral infection that “should pass in few days”.
During the eight (8!) days it took to finally feel better, I watched TV (most of the time). My body ached for almost a week, yet the achiness did not serve as a reminder to do what I knew (focus on Jesus). Tiredness and headache set in and I didn’t persistently look to a different source of strength after I took the pain reliever . Nausea swept through and I did not seek out alternative nutrition for the part of me that was not sick—my spirit. The headache, back ache, tiredness, nausea each became a physical distraction that I allowed to keep me from pursuing the spiritual solution to my problem.
Thankfully, I’m feeling much better today. Looking back on this past week, I did not follow what I’ve encouraged others to do so many times—get in the Word of God, find my answer to the problem at hand, and focus on the answer. I got distracted by the symptoms and the TV. I feel like I wasted a LOT of time last week. No writing, no working on goals, no online posts, and certainly no chores or exercise got done. Admittedly, I didn’t feel like doing much of anything. I didn’t even feel like strengthening my spirit by reading God’s love letter to me (the Bible). But God so lovingly strokes me with His gentle, fatherly hand and tells me, “It’s okay, I’m still here with you.”
Proverbs 18:14 (NKJV) encourages us that, “The spirit of a man will sustain him in sickness, But who can bear a broken spirit?” Within the Word of God lies the answer to every problem we can ever experience in life. I know that. I teach that. But, I got distracted by my circumstances. Has that ever happened to you?
Today, no more beating myself up with thoughts about what I should or could have done in the midst of that illness. All the “Coulda, Shoulda, Woulda” in the world won’t change the past nor help in moving forward. Now is the time to praise God that He kept me through those eight days and will continue to do so. Now is the time to read and marvel about how His power and favor work in my life. Now is the time to realign my focus so that I continue to look to the One who loves me and does nothing but good on my behalf.
I’m looking forward to a productive week where I handle distractions in a much more effective way. Are you?
Distractions
My life has had a lot of distractions-some big, some small- that have taken my gaze away from God’s plan and His loving hand. Those distractions have come packaged in a lot of different ways: as boys, when I was a teenaged girl; as extra-curricular activities, when I was a college student; and, as church activities, when I was a young mother.
Each of these distractions, among many others, brought their own set of consequences and kept me from fully enjoying God’s plan for me. Emotional turmoil resulted from the “boys distraction.” Poor grades resulted from the “extra-curricular distraction.” And yes, believe it or not, church activities were a distraction! They slowly began to eat away at the time I spent at home with my husband and children. It was hard to recognize that my schedule was problematic and even harder to make a change to it.
Hebrews 12:2 in the Amplified Bible encourages us to look away from all that will distract us and look to Jesus. After all, His plan is the BEST for us because it is birthed out of love and is filled with good and perfect gifts [James 1:7].
But in order to keep our eyes on Him, we have to be convinced that Jesus is the answer to our problems at hand and trust that there’s no need to look anywhere else for our solution.
What’s the distraction in your life today that pulls your gaze to anything other than Jesus? No matter how big or small it is, how will you re-focus in order to experience God’s plan?