Distractions enter our lives like a tornado through a trailer park. We never see them coming or expect that they’ll do much damage. We have things planned in our lives and then we look back in retrospect and see this tangled mess of things that never got accomplished. Why is that? We don’t intend for these things to wreak havoc in our lives. Before we know it, we’re being interviewed on the evening news describing the sound of the tornado and wondering why it chose to mess with our park. Is this random, or am I being targeted? I guess that’s why it’s best for us to have a conscious awareness of potential distractions.
I’ve experienced this a lot in life. It seems we also feel like we can multi-task better than we actually can. We’re trying to do 5 things at once without really doing any one of them very well. I’ve seen a lot of articles, lately, about studies on multi-tasking. They all seem to come to the same conclusion. We are really bad at it even though we think we’re good at it. I suppose it’s that feeling that we’re really accomplishing a lot in a short amount of time. However, we don’t see the reality—that we’re like little kids when we tried to help our parents with a project. It takes twice as long and makes 5 times the mess. It’s a wonder they let us help at all. Sorry Mom and Dad.
I can relate to being distracted whenever I was studying for school, especially in college. Dorm rooms aren’t exactly a good place to avoid distractions. You have 50 people on the same floor all trying to find reasons not to study. That’s a boiling cauldron of disaster waiting to happen. You get started with the best intentions but then there are always the guys in the commons area playing catch or someone dropping things from the balcony, or someone going around trying to get a pick-up game of football going. Well, you can’t turn that down. If that’s not bad enough, we end up creating our own distractions. Since we’re afraid to take on a project, we end up starting another project to avoid the project we’re supposed to be doing and end up never finishing either project. Yeah, that sounds like a good idea.
You remember the dog from the movie ‘UP’? Yeah, we seem to be a lot like that. We can be completely enthralled with a task until the squirrel of distraction runs across our path and then we’re like, “Squirrel!” All hope is lost then as we get wrapped up in another endeavor.
How do we avoid getting ourselves into these situations? There has to be some way we can avoid these random encumbrances. Well, it seems planning is a big part of that. We have to rate how important our project is and rate the severity of the thing that you would allow to distract you from it. Say, for instance, if your house were on fire you would be willing to make some allowances. Your favorite TV show being on would, however, probably end up lower on the list. I suppose we have to be determined that, once we start on something, we’re going to see it through.
I guess what I had in mind most when thinking on this topic was personal Bible study and prayer time, my own mostly. I’m sure others could relate to this topic, though. I’ve struggled myself with getting in that routine of study and prayer every day. There are times when I’ve been good at it as well.
I like to refer to this verse often. 2 Timothy 2:15 says, “Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.” So, we know that it’s important that we study the word. I think the key word there is study. I’ve found myself reading at times. I wasn’t really studying, though. My mind has a tendency to wander when I just read. I find it most productive when I’m reading footnotes and references on specific verses. I will even go back sometimes a few verses to review what I’ve just read and get a good overview. I seem to remember more this way, too.
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Joshua 1:8 says, “This book of the law shall not depart out of thy mouth; but thou shalt meditate therein day and night, that thou mayest observe to do according to all that is written therein: for then thou shalt make thy way prosperous, and then thou shalt have good success.” I think once we’ve studied we can really get the word inside us to a degree that we start doing it. When situations arise in our lives we will automatically remember verses that apply to that situation and we can end up actually using it in that situation. It’s actually an encouraging thing when we start applying the word in our lives.
Here’s a verse we can apply in about every situation. These verses can even be applied to distractions in our lives. Philippians 4:13 says, “I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me.” We need to remember that God is there to help us in not just the obviously important things in our lives, but the seemingly trivial things as well. He’s wanting us to look to Him in everything. Like it says in Proverbs 3:5-6: “Trust in the LORD with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding. In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths.” So, we can know that God wants to direct us in the small things in life. ‘In all thy ways acknowledge him’, it says. I think this requires from us a moment by moment reliance on Him. The great thing is this builds our relationship with Him as well. The more we learn to rely on Him, and less on ourselves, the better. His Holy Spirit will help us, too, and bring to remembrance the things we’ve studied.
I’ve realized a few fundamentals to apply to Bible study and prayer. It’s usually best if we have a designated time each day for study and prayer. For some people that might be in the morning. As the day goes on the easier it is to get distracted. So, this can help cut out distractions. Whether it’s a half hour or an hour, it’s a good start to the day. I know that’s not always easy. As we get into a regular routine, though, this becomes easier. Daily reading and prayer helps us remember the truths of God’s Word. Then we can apply those truths to our lives on a daily basis.
2 Timothy 2:15 says, “Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.”
Joshua 1:8 says, “This book of the law shall not depart out of thy mouth; but thou shalt meditate therein day and night, that thou mayest observe to do according to all that is written therein: for then thou shalt make thy way prosperous, and then thou shalt have good success.”
Philippians 4:13 says, “I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me.”
Proverbs 3:5-6: “Trust in the LORD with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding. In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths.”