Distractions

Psalm 119:15 “I will study your commandments and reflect on your ways.” NLT

The day had finally come. My husband and I had embarked on a road trip...without our kids! What luck! We were driving to Little Rock for a long weekend to ride our bikes on the Arkansas River Trail, something that we hadn’t been able to do for two years. We had always ridden the bike trails around our home and in this area with our children, and today, we were anxious to see what we could do, and how far we could go on our own. He drove, and I navigated us to a parking area where we could park the car and mount our bikes, but about a mile before we arrived, he was flagged down by a motorcycle cop. What did we do wrong, I thought.

Speeding. He evidently was speeding. He had no idea what the speed limit even was, and I honestly, didn’t even care. He got a ticket, and the guy was a little snotty about it too. Tensions were high in the car as he rolled his window up and drove away. I didn’t say a word, just looked straight ahead, and held my breath for what I thought he was going to say. 

You see, my husband is a brooder. I despise brooding. Why can’t he just go ahead and state his feelings and get it out of his system! But no, he’s a brooder, and when things go wrong, he likes to contemplate all of the facets of the situation...for days! I honestly thought in that moment that he was going to say that he didn’t feel like riding his bike and that we should just go to the hotel. But he didn’t! Shocked, I just sat in the car while he unloaded our bikes and got our water bottles ready to go. 

Distractions come in all shapes, sizes, situations, and even satisfactions. Usually, they are things that keep us from doing the things we want to do, the things we know we should be doing, and the things we must do. That day, I’m glad that my husband decided that, instead of brooding over a situation that he could do nothing about, we would go on our bike ride as planned and let nothing stop us from enjoying our day.

Satan loves to throw curve balls when we least expect it. It may come in the form of a speeding ticket, bad news at work, an unexpected bill, or an illness that keeps us from working out longer than we really needed. Distractions turn our desire and focus from the Lord to the situation at hand. Instead of focusing on walking on the path that God has laid out for us, we get sidetracked by the flowers on the side, the roadkill in the middle, and flat tires on the way.

But the psalmist here pulls our attention back to God. He will think upon, ponder, keep his thought process focused on the Lord. He will continuously ponder the Word of God. Satan will try to distract us, but we must intentionally direct our thoughts back to Him. 

How do we do that? 

1. Memorize Scripture. His Word will not return void!
2. Make sure you spend time in the Word and in prayer daily, preferably in the morning so that your thought process is set for the day ahead.
3. Pray that He will remind you and make you aware that you have become distracted. He is faithful!
4. Rebuke Satan. The Scriptures say that he will flee!

What distractions have pulled your focus away from the things you are trying to accomplish? What areas of your life is God trying to work? Focus your thoughts, contemplate His Word, and renew the vision for your life.

Encouragement for Today

Proverbs 16:3 “Commit your works to the Lord, and your thoughts will be established.” NKJV

Matthew 24:13 “But those that endure to the end will be saved.” NIV