Distracted!
- Richard Selke
- Mar 4, 2025
- 5 min read
Updated: Mar 25, 2025
March 5, 2025
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One morning I was running late for work and heading for the garage. My cell phone rang, and I answered it. I got into my car, started it up, put the gear in reverse and proceeded to back through my garage door which I had failed to open. I was distracted.
I usually prepare our morning coffee the night before. I fill the water reservoir and measure the coffee into the filter basket. One morning I walked into the kitchen and turned on the coffee maker. When I went back to get a cup, I discovered that the night before, I had failed to place the carafe back into the coffee maker. Coffee had poured out everywhere! What a mess! I guess I’d been distracted.
When we moved into our home, I connected the washer and dryer and pushed them into place. However, I failed to put the drain hose of the washer into the standpipe in the wall. So, the first time we washed clothes, the utility room flooded. Another mess! I suppose I’d been distracted.
One day early in the morning while it was still dark, Susan and I were engaged in a “conversation” as we backed out of our driveway. As we “talked” and continued backing up, I unknowingly left the driveway, traveled across the yard and backed into a rather large tree. I was definitely distracted!
I could go on and on, but you can see the common theme in all of these incidents – distraction.
Distractions don’t just cost us time, money, and frustration; they can also pull us away from God. In the same way I was too preoccupied to open my garage door, we can become so caught up in daily life that we fail to open our hearts to God’s presence. The world and Satan can distract us and separate us from truth and reality – and most importantly, from God.
Sarah Young says, “You live in a world that is rigged to distract you.” And we are under constant spiritual attack. Satan is real and his ongoing strategy is to woo us away from God and His Kingdom through his lies and deceit.
Have you ever been so distracted that you missed what God was trying to tell you? Maybe you intended to pray but got sidetracked. Maybe you meant to read Scripture but got caught up with emails or social media instead. If we focus on the truth of the Word of God – in the Holy Scriptures and in the Person of Jesus Christ – we can resist distractions and stand firm in our faith.
The Bible proclaims: “Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall trouble or hardship or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword? … No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.” (Romans 8:35, 37-38, NIV)
I love the way Eugene Peterson puts it in The Message, his contemporary rendering of the Bible: “So, what do you think? With God on our side like this, how can we lose? If God didn’t hesitate to put everything on the line for us, embracing our condition and exposing himself to the worst by sending his own Son, is there anything else he wouldn’t gladly and freely do for us? And who would dare tangle with God by messing with one of God’s chosen? Who would dare even to point a finger? The One who died for us – who was raised to life for us! – is in the presence of God at this very moment sticking up for us. Do you think anyone is going to be able to drive a wedge between us and Christ’s love for us? There is no way! Not trouble, not hard times, not hatred, not hunger, not homelessness, not bullying threats, not backstabbing, not even the worst sins listed in Scripture … None of this fazes us because Jesus loves us. I’m absolutely convinced that nothing – nothing living or dead, angelic or demonic, today or tomorrow, high or low, thinkable or unthinkable – absolutely nothing can get between us and God’s love because of the way that Jesus our Master has embraced us.” (Romans 8:35, 37-38, The Message)
As we go about our daily lives, we need to beware of distractions. They can cost us time and money – a new garage door and car repairs, time spent cleaning up a massive coffee spill or dealing with a flooded utility room.
But the cost of being distracted and separated from God is much greater – it can cost us our eternal souls.
So how do we stay focused on Christ? We put on the full armor of God (Ephesians 6:10-18.) We guard our time with Him. We set aside moments in our day to read His Word, pray and worship. We ask the Holy Spirit to help us recognize when we’re drifting away from Him and to draw us back into the presence of Jesus.
Let’s commit today to refocusing our hearts on Jesus. Maybe that means starting the day with prayer before checking our phones. Maybe it’s setting aside quiet time to read Scripture. Maybe it’s pausing to acknowledge God’s presence in the middle of a busy day. Whatever they are and whenever they occur, let’s push back against distractions and draw closer to Him.
REMEMBER & BELIEVE
Christ has died; Christ is risen; Christ will come again.
In the meantime, beware of distractions!
QUESTION
Have you ever been so distracted that you missed what God was trying to say to you?
PRAYER
Lord, we confess that we are often distracted. Help us to turn our focus back to You. Open our eyes to see the ways the world and Satan pull us away, and give us strength to return to You.
Our Father Who art in heaven, hallowed be Thy name. Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread and forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us, and lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil and the evil one. For Thine is the kingdom and the power, and the glory, forever and ever.
Amen
“This is the day the Lord has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it.” Psalm 118:24 (NRSV)
God bless you!
Richard
Christ Worshipper | Disciple Maker | Hope Giver
Welcome to In the Meantime. I'm glad you're here! We are living in the time between Christ's ascension into heaven and His promised return to earth. In the Meantime is a collection of stories about God the Father, Son and Holy Spirit, and His presence, love, mercy and grace in my life. In the Meantime, Jesus is Lord! Hallelujah!
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