look a distraction!

have you ever noticed that when it seems like you are entering a deeper level of revelation in Christ and God is showing Himself big to you that it seems like all hell breaks loose somewhere in your life? a few years ago i was enjoying a place in my life with the Lord that was so sweet.  i felt like He was revealing deep and intimate truths to my heart and the result of the time spent with Him seemed to cause every area of my life to blossom. my relationship with my husband seemed sweeter, everything was going well with parenting at the time, and my friendships were very enjoyable. it just seemed like life was so good in every way.

then one day i noticed something out of the ordinary that peaked my curiosity and caused me some concern.  i began to investigate more into the issue and the more i sought clarity with it, the more consumed i became to get to the bottom of it all.  in the meantime, everything that seemed to be so sweet in my life was teetering.  i recognized right away how differently things seemed to be in my heart and in my relationships.  i noticed i had lost my peace and was beginning to feel overwhelmed. but, i really wanted to figure this issue out.   i asked the Lord to help me because i knew that i was not experiencing the Life that He had provided for me and i was wondering why.  His answer to me was simple, quick, and absolute. "christy, this issue is just a distraction!"

oh my goodness! i saw it! in an instant, i realized that the enemy had set a trap for me to fall into, a distraction trap!  i had lost my focus on what was important! HIM!!! and, i began to focus on something minor that only brought me frustration! i recognized and saw the whole thing from His perspective and turned my focus back to the One that brought me such peace.  i immediately began to experience the Life that was so sweet in every area of my life once again.

the one thing that the enemy hates the most is when we actually begin to experience the blessings of our salvation in every area of our lives.  he hates it when we are happy.  he hates it when we live in peace with God and one another "in Christ."  he hates it when we are so focused on Christ that we actually begin to live in the blessings that He has provided for us.  and, as soon as he gets a chance, he begins to look for ways to cleverly release his weapons of mass distraction toward us.  his goal is to get us to look away from Jesus and the Truth and get focused on anything else.  it seems like most of the time he succeeds.  i think that we are easily distracted because we have not become convinced of the Truth of the goodness of God and His power to care for us and because of that, the things in this world seem bigger to us than God Himself.

when i look back at that situation, i thank God for the lesson that i learned in that time period of my life.  i have definitely been distracted away from keeping my heart solely on Jesus since then.  but, it seems that i have learned to catch the traps quicker now.  i have recognized the symptoms of the traps of distraction.  those symptoms show up in my soul where my thoughts and my emotions reside.  if i pay attention to my thoughts and emotions, i can recognize whether i have become distracted or not.  stress, anxiety, and frustration reveal evidence of being distracted from the Truth of what Jesus says about me and every situation that i encounter.  peace, joy, and rest reveal evidence of a solid focus on Him.

so really, what we all need is an anchor for our soul so that it can become single focused and not be easily distracted. Jesus is that anchor! He is the Truth! a deeper revelation of who He is and His great plan for our lives will make Truth so plain and clear to us that we will quickly recognize the weapon of distraction and render it powerless. when the enemy plants a trap before us, we will be able to recognize it and say, "look a distraction!" and avoid the pitfalls that he intended us to fall into.  when we really know the Truth, the lies are quickly recognized and our soul remains stable, confident and secure experiencing the fruit of remaining focused on Jesus.


"so God has given both his promise and his oath.  these two things are unchangeable because it is impossible for God to lie.  therefore, we who have fled to Him for refuge can have great confidence as we hold to the hope that lies before us.  this hope is a strong and trustworthy anchor for our souls."  hebrews 6:18,19