“‘Martha, Martha,’ the Lord answered, ‘you are worried and upset about many things, but few things are needed — or indeed only one. Mary has chosen what is better, and it will not be taken away from her.'” — Luke 10:41-42
Shut The Door On Distractions
The amount of things you can get distracted by is mind-blowing.
Speaking as a current athlete, I struggle with how easy it is to get distracted. Right after practice you come home, and an hour passes as you scroll through social media. Or maybe you do get to the gym every now and then, but always find a way to waste an hour there for no reason doing nothing. Or maybe this is you: You work hard all day, eat right, get a good lift in and hop into bed … to watch Netflix all night.
You’ve been distracted.
Spiritually speaking, distractions are the No. 1 thing holding people back from fulfilling their God-given purpose and calling for their life. “I don’t have enough time. I can’t find a way to slow down. I don’t feel God’s presence like I used to.” So often, we sacrifice our calling on the altar of comfort. We don’t go the extra mile.
The key thought is this: Your life is too valuable, your calling too great, and your God too good to be wasting time doing things that do not matter and do not last.
Jesus knew how easy it is for us to get distracted. Referring to a weary and anxious Martha, who was quickly trying to complete all of the housework, He said this: “Martha, Martha, you are worried and upset about many things, but few things are needed — or indeed only one. Mary has chosen what is better, and it will not be taken away from her” (Luke 10:41-42).
You are upset over little things, but there is only one thing worth being concerned about. Mary knows it. It’s Me. I am the center of your life.
When we understand how much we truly need Jesus’ presence and power in our lives, only then will we have the faith and courage to diminish the distractions around us. You have been called by God to fulfill such a huge purpose! God wants to use you for eternal impact. But you can never do it in the shallow end.
With God’s help, take a leap of faith today and leave distractions in the dust. Make your faith a priority. Proverbs 4:25-27 says, “Let your eyes look straight ahead; fix your gaze directly before you. Give careful thought to the paths for your feet and be steadfast in all your ways. Do not turn to the right or the left; keep your foot from evil.”
Don’t get sidetracked, because the No. 1 thing Satan will do to limit your impact on this world and on God’s Kingdom is make you busy. By the power of the Spirit, cut out the distractions in your life right now and ask God to open your heart to the needs of others.
Paul said this in 1 Timothy 4:8: “For physical training is of some value, but Godliness has value for all things, holding promise for both the present life and the life to come.”
Are you training right now for eternity? It starts by shutting the door on distractions.
— Ryan Shieh, Liberty University baseball player
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