WHAT IS THE DANGER IN DISTRACTIONS?
Luke 9:62 . . . Jesus told him, “Anyone who puts a hand to the plow and then looks back is not fit for the Kingdom of God.”
Matthew 14:28-31 . . . Then Peter called to him, “Lord, if it’s really you, tell me to come to you by walking on water.” “All right, come,” Jesus said. So Peter went over the side of the boat and walked on the water toward Jesus. But when he looked around at the high waves, he was terrified and began to sink. “Save me, Lord!” he shouted. Instantly Jesus reached out his hand and grabbed him. “You don’t have much faith,” Jesus said. “Why did you doubt me?”
Distractions take our focus off of Jesus. We can be in the middle of doing great things, but if we take our eyes off Jesus for even a moment, we can begin to sink!
HOW CAN GOD USE DISTRACTIONS?
Exodus 3:1-4 . . . One day Moses was tending the flock of his father-in-law, Jethro. . . . Suddenly, the angel of the Lord appeared to him as a blazing fire in a bush. Moses was amazed because the bush was engulfed in flames, but it didn’t burn up. . . . “Why isn’t that bush burning up? I must go over to see this.”
Moses was just out on an ordinary day doing his ordinary job! God used the bush, a definite distraction, to get Moses’ attention.
Acts 9:3-5 . . . As he was nearing Damascus on this mission, a brilliant light from heaven suddenly beamed down upon him! He fell to the ground and heard a voice saying to him, “Saul! Saul! Why are you persecuting me?”
God can refocus our sights on his ways, distracting us from our ways. Paul was on his mission to persecute Christians when God got his attention with a distraction that was even harder to ignore than Moses’ bush and changed the course of his whole life (and many others!).
HOW DO I DEAL WITH DISTRACTIONS?
Mark 10:17 . . . As he was starting out on a trip, a man came running up to Jesus, knelt down, and asked, “Good Teacher, what should I do to get eternal life?”
Matthew 19:13-15 . . . Some children were brought to Jesus so he could lay his hands on them and pray for them. The disciples told them not to bother him. But Jesus said, “Let the children come to me. Don’t stop them! For the Kingdom of Heaven belongs to such as these.” And he put his hands on their heads and blessed them before he left.
Distractions happened all the time in Jesus’ ministry. The difference in the way he handled distractions and the way we do is that he just worked the distractions right into the main focus of his life! In other words, Jesus didn’t see them as distractions, just opportunities to save the lost!
Acts 16:29-33 . . . Trembling with fear, the jailer called for lights and ran to the dungeon and fell down before Paul and Silas. He brought them out and asked, “Sirs, what must I do to be saved?” They replied, “Believe on the Lord Jesus and you will be saved, along with your entire household.” Then they shared the word of the Lord with him.
Paul in jail-circumstance distraction. Some of us would have looked at a jail sentence as a definite distraction to our mission from God. Not Paul and Silas! Their mission just continued in the jail cell!
HOW DO WE REMAIN FOCUSED AMIDST DISTRACTIONS?
Hebrews 12:13 . . . Mark out a straight path for your feet. Then those who follow you, though they are weak and lame, will not stumble and fall but will become strong.
Make clear goals for how you will serve God, and then follow those goals without wavering.
Acts 6:2-4 . . . “Now look around among yourselves, friends, and select seven men who are well respected and are full of the Holy Spirit and wisdom. We will put them in charge of this business. Then we can spend our time in prayer and preaching and teaching the word.”
Stay focused on what you do well, and learn to delegate what others can do as well as you, or better.
Psalm 119:157 . . . Many persecute and trouble me, yet I have not swerved from your decrees.
Daniel 6:13 . . . Then they told the king, “That man Daniel, one of the captives from Judah, is paying no attention to you or your law. He still prays to his God three times a day.”
Don’t be distracted, even by good things, if they take you away from what you know is right.
Philippians 3:13 . . . No, dear friends, I am still not all I should be, but I am focusing all my energies on this one thing: Forgetting the past and looking forward to what lies ahead.
Don’t let the past drag you down; focus your energies on what you can do for God and others now and in the future.
Psalm 66:9 . . . Our lives are in his hands, and he keeps our feet from stumbling.
Keep your eyes fixed on the Lord.
Proverbs 4:12 . . . If you live a life guided by wisdom, you won’t limp or stumble as you run.
Constantly seek wisdom.
PROMISE FROM GOD:
Hebrews 12:13 . . . Mark out a straight path for your feet. Then those who follow you, though they are weak and lame, will not stumble and fall but will become strong.