In the world that we live in, in this day and time, there is so much going on all around us. Negativity and unrighteousness are almost looked at as if it’s normal. Some people would rather do wrong than right.
As a Christian, things can be rather challenging for the Believer. I say this because it’s so easy to get caught up if you’re not focused. We must keep our minds stayed on our Heavenly Father. We must be focused, and we must stay focused. God wants us to love Him with our whole heart. Distractions come in all kinds of ways, and they are designed to take our minds away from our Heavenly Father, to deter our thinking, and to get us off track and take us in another direction.
I believe that’s why God told us in Isaiah 26:3 …Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on thee: because he trusteth thee. We know that the enemy comes to steal, kill, and destroy as the Bible tells us in John 10:10. But the scriptures go on to say that Jesus has come that we may have life and have it more abundantly. God doesn’t want us to be distracted; we must guard our minds. We must be careful what we allow to go into our minds and even what we allow our eyes to see.
We can’t be distracted by stuff and things. They’re only temporary, but our time with our Heavenly Father is eternal. So, how we live our life now depends on what happens later. Colossians 3:2 tells us to set our minds on things above, not on earthly things. Distractions can be as simple as social media, smart phones, and even the television. Distractions prevent us from maintaining our focus, so we won’t concentrate on doing the important things in our lives that really matter.
We must not get caught up in situations and circumstances. When we allow ourselves to do that, once again, it takes our focus off God, and we give all our attention to that situation or the circumstance. When it’s negative, we’re so into it that we’ve began to try to handle it ourselves and not trust God to take care of it. That’s a No-No! At that point we have tried to take matters into our own hands. If we trust God, then we must trust Him. He can do for us that we can’t do for ourselves. He’s a problem solver, He’s a burden bearer, He’s a heavy load sharer. We look to the hills from whence cometh our help. Our help comes from the Lord!
And, then there’s people. People can become one of our biggest distractions, without us even realizing it sometimes. Self-discipline is a must. Keep people out of your ear. Other people’s opinion is just that; it’s an opinion! For example, some people are quick to say … “If I were you … “ Well, guess what? You are NOT me! I think for myself and make my own decisions after consulting God if He hasn’t already told me specifically what to do.
When you’re trying to live a righteous life, we even have to be careful with sickness in our own bodies. Don’t get me wrong, we all get sick but if we allow our condition to overtake us, we will find that our mind stays on that sickness all the time. When we do that, it takes away from our time with the Lord. We become so focused on our condition instead of trusting the Lord, our Healer. So, to sum it all up … Distractions come in all kinds of ways. We “must” keep our minds stayed on Jesus.
So, in this cruel, evil world there is work to be done. God said, “Be Holy, For I Am Holy!” (That’s a powerful statement.) Holy means to be set apart. It does not mean that we’re better than anybody else, but we’re different. He says: Do what is right. (Be righteous) We should love what God loves and hate what He hates. We are to be examples. And, “No,” we are not perfect, but we are striving each and every day to do what God has told us to do and be who He has called us to be.
As Christians, when we start to lose sight of God, His Word, and His plan for our lives, it can lead us into the wrong direction towards sin, missed opportunities, missed blessings, and discipline from God. LET’S STAY STRONG & STAY FOCUSED!!! God Bless You All!