“But the worries of this life, the deceitfulness of wealth and the desires for other things come in and choke the word, making it unfruitful.” Mark 4:19 NIV

Why Worry

About a year ago, a story came out about one of Michael Jordan’s practice techniques that many found intriguing. The story goes that, in order to mimic the distracting camera flashes in the crowd, he used to practice and run through drills with strobe lights on in the gym.

If you have ever been around strobe lights, you know how distorted everything seems and how the speed of motion looks warped. If Jordan truly practiced in that environment (and there are rumors of other players employing the technique), and he was productive in those practices, there would be no double that he could withstand whatever visual distractions came his way in a game situation.

The Bible teaches us that one of the biggest threats to our ministry is the distraction of worrying about everyday life. Between paying the bills, taking care of your home, caring for sick loved-ones, and making sure your family has what it needs to succeed, it can be easy to neglect the work that God has prepared for you. The lens of worry can distort reality and make it easy for us to lose focus on our primary purpose. Our view becomes warped and our daily desires can easily take precedent over our calling.

I’m not quite sure we can or should simulate being worried to prepare ourselves for blocking it out when needed. What we can do is to make the decision every day to seek God above all things. We can be intentional about our prayer time and Bible study. When things get overwhelming, we should ask God for help but we should also ask for focus so that we can keep our eyes fixed on Him.

Worry can be a huge barrier in carrying out the work God has for you.

Focus on God. Avoid distractions. Be like Mike.

– Jamie Boggs