Distraction is bondage; Focus is Freedom!

 

 

"No, dear brothers and sisters, I have not achieved it, but I focus on this one thing: Forgetting the past and looking forward to what lies ahead..." Philippians 3:13

Distraction. It's all around us and it pulls our hearts and minds in many different directions all at once.  We become like the Looney Tunes character, the Tasmanian devil. We're swirling around tearing down everything in our path, but unsure of where we are going to end up. Pretty soon we stop somewhere and we just pick up from there and head off again.

There's no direction on that path, and there is no focus. It's just a hodge podge of heading out on any random road before us and ending up at a surprise destination. It doesn't lead anywhere that is truly life giving to us. It certainly doesn't lead to a solid foundation on which to build our wall of life on.

 God has a main focus for each of lives, something that He has called us to. In order to pursue that God given talent to it's full potential, we must be focused. A world filled with distraction is what the enemy wants. If we are distracted, we will not pursue the things God has set before us with diligence and we will never reach the heights of what God has in store for us.

God sets a few things on our plate and He wants us to excel at those. He wants us to do the things He puts before us with excellence and long term vision. If we have no long term vision, we will get distracted and easily move on to something else. Quickly that "something else" that we moved on to becomes another something else, and then another something else...and pretty soon there is a lifetime of something else's rather than a lifetime of productive focus.

We see how quickly distraction leads to being bound. The things God has for us in life bring freedom. Distraction along the path will detract from God's freedom and rope us into distracted bondage! We can't get deterred by the path others are on and we can't get weighed down by small things. Often it is not one large event or thing that takes our focus away. It is a slow leak of small distractions that have entered our life over time. Small activities that we think don't take too much time, small projects, too much tv, too many wasteful hobbies, taking on this obligation and that, and never saying no will distract us from God's best.

God gives us many examples of those who accomplished the goals He set before them. They were not filling their days with a puzzle of empty activity. They always achieved God's greatness for them because they didn't rely on their own strength or expect a "quick fix." They achieved this because with God guiding them they remained focused on the mission God set before them until it was completed.

 It is estimated that it took Noah 90-100 years to work on the ark. That was many years of intense and focused building.  "So Noah did everything exactly as God had commanded him." Genesis 6:22

Paul focused on traveling to spread the Gospel no matter what the cost and followed where God led Him.  "He will keep you strong to the end so that you will be free from all blame on the day when our Lord Jesus Christ returns. God will do this, for he is faithful to do what he says, and he has invited you into partnership with his Son, Jesus Christ our Lord." 1 Corinthians 1:8-9

Solomon focused seven years on building his temple.  "The word of the Lord came to Solomon: “As for this temple you are building, if you follow my decrees, observe my laws and keep all my commands and obey them, I will fulfill through you the promise I gave to David your father.  And I will live among the Israelites and will not abandon my people Israel.” 1 Kings 6:11-13

We are so quick to want instantaneous larger than life gratification for putting in a small amount of focus.
 
 Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour: (1 Peter 5:8)

The devil can easily devour us with distraction. He seeks to dull God's arrows and His work by taking us away from God's purposes with the disease of time wasting.

God wants us to display our faithfulness by giving Him our focus. Daily focus takes purposeful intent. Shutting the door on endless distractions takes a strong will and a long term vision that will not be blurred.

 When we keep our focus our days will be redeemed well, spent on the life giving and the purposeful. We will look back and know that we spend our days wisely. We won't wonder where the time went and what we wasted so many of our years on. We won't feel the bondage of wishing for the time back to do over again.

"I glorified you on earth, having accomplished the work that you gave me to do." John 17:4

In keeping our focus on what God wants us to do, we will find freedom.

"Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.” Matthew 11:29-30