Distraction

It flits before your eyes, calls from the various rooms of your house, shapeshifts to cover itself with the frosting of that fresh baked cake on the counter.

Distraction.

The very word is a dangerous one that I almost hesitate to speak for fear that it will find me when I least expect it.

It comes in the form of a message that pops up on the black screen of your phone. It comes in the form of a bird fluttering outside the window to your right. It comes in the form of friends desiring your company for the day.

None of these are bad things. In fact all of them can be most excellent. A message from a friend or loved one could go so many places. A bird--you can wonder at the creation of the Creator. Friends...well, people are at the forefront of where our attention should be.

But are they distracting you from the purpose God has put into your very heart and mind to complete for His Kingdom?

Not all distractions are bad. But if they are keeping you from fulfilling what God has called you to do in this moment (as I stare at the bird hopping around our feeder outside the window), then you need to buckle down and get your horse blinders on.

Focus.
F O C U S.

We need to be faithful.
Does this mean we don't take the time to answer messages or marvel at creation or perhaps we just seclude ourselves away in our rooms for the rest of our days and never speak to another human being again?

No. This just means we manage our time, we ask God what He would have us do, and we don't take too much time away from what He has called us to do.

Please, answer the messages. But don't spend hours messaging and zero pursuing what God has called you to do. Please, watch the birds fly outside your window. But don't watch them so intently that the day has passed and you've done nothing of what God has called you to do. Please, spend time with your friends. But don't spend all day everyday with them unless that's what God has called you to do (but I have a feeling there's more to it than that).

If we are not being faithful with what God has placed in front of us, how can we expect to get to Heaven and hope to hear "Well done, my good and faithful servant"? We are only good and faithful servants if we grab the oil for our lamps and wait for the bridegroom, being faithful with what we're supposed to do. (Matthew 25:1-13).

We must pursue Him all our days.

"Do what you can, with what you have, where you are."
Theodore Roosevelt

Song: Bull In A China Shop by Switchfoot
Passage: Matthew 25:1-13