The Distraction DilemmaSample

Identifying Your Distractions

Are you like me? Days can often just disappear as they fly by like a fast-moving train. Whether we are at a job in our workplace or ministering to family members in our households, most of us are plenty busy. Some of us serve in outside ministries as well. As we just reviewed, we need to guard allowing ourselves to become distracted by overwhelming busyness. Every day. All day.

Living out one distracted day at a time, we can end up with a life that is totally off course.  Inch by inch we can end up a mile away from our heart’s intentions. But, of course, the enemy of our souls wants us distracted from these higher purposes. He is subtle and sneaky. We need to identify these culprits and recognize their impact on our days. A couple of life’s greatest distractions include television and social media. But a different kind of distraction can show up as fear, worry, comparison and depression. Even though real, these nuances certainly can take our energy away. 

I can get distracted by piddly little things, like checking my cell phone, doing the dishes or the laundry. All these things are necessary but can simply be distractions. It is also easy to waste energy being distracted by things that we cannot even control, like the news, the weather or the traffic. We need be cognizant of time wasted by things beyond our control.

In addition to the overwhelming barrage of piddly little things, and things that we cannot control, here are a few more subtle/unassuming distractions. We don’t generally consider these as distractions, but they might be. 

#1 – Pleasure/Ease – I can be deterred by any fun thing. We must consider if we are living for pleasure or ease versus what is right! 

#2 – Pride – Pride can distract us into diversions and side-track our daily intentions. Often we follow wherever our ego leads us.

#3 – Procrastination – Often, we KNOW the right decision that needs to be made…but because it may be tough to do so,we delay it, hoping that maybe God either just "work it out" or change His mind! Or that it might magically disappear. We spend too much wasted time just procrastinating.

#4 – People – Pleasing people can be exhausting and often get us off-track. Someone is always going to not like what you do, who you are and what you stand for.  (See Galatians 1:10). Live for the audience of ONE.

#5 – Performance – So exhausting! The performance treadmill keeps many of us off focus. We have this over-riding voice wooing us to simply try harder and harder, work harder and harder…thus establishing a pace that literally sends us into a wall at 100 mph…off track.

#6 – Problems - We can't view problems as God's punishment…but rather we must view them as God's preparation! Each problem can be a stepping stone to greater preparation and opportunity. But sometimes they can be considered an annoying distraction.

#7 – Passion – Your passion can lead towards purpose, but an over-riding or misguided passion can be a distraction when we use it to run over people or to dominate your scheduled priorities. 

So, as we have discussed, identify your priorities (the big stones) and identify the overwhelming but unnecessary distractions. We cannot live intentionally and purposefully when we are accidentally distracted by too many lesser things.

Ponder:

What “good things” in your life are still keeping you distracted from the “greater things?” Consider if you are allowing the things that you want NOW to distract you from the thigs that you want MOST.

Prayer:

Lord help keep me focused on the most important things for today. Help me live one undistracted day at a time only allowing for Your divine interruptions.