In a day we are all used to being side-tracked, distracted, do a bit of day dreaming, stare into space? etc… When we actually sit down and think about it, we will realise that we are distracted quite a lot in our day to day lives. Most of the time when we are distracted it’s only a minor thing and doesn’t make too much of a difference unless we are distracted while driving a car or when our husband or wife is talking to us – then distraction can be a serious thing.
I read this little story about old Grandma Schultz – I’m sure you’ve heard it before, but it does highlight the power of distraction in our lives. It goes like this. “Grandma Schultz sets out to hang the washing on the line. She goes to the laundry to fetch the pegs, notices a mouse, and runs inside to find a trap. She sees a grimy spot on the kitchen floor, rummages through the cupboard for a cleaning rag, and comes across an old letter from cousin Hilda who lives in the Barossa Valley. She reads it and finds Hilda’s recipe for streusel kuchen. She goes to the kitchen and seeing the jam boiling over on the stove, opens the window and sees Grandpa in the garden. She remembers that she needs some tomatoes for lunch and goes out to the garden. She sees the dog and says, “Oh my, you need a bath” and heads for the laundry.”
Now I wonder if Grandma Schultz will see the unhung washing in the laundry? No one can say Grandma Schultz was a lazy person or that her intentions were all wrong. It’s just that she was so easily distracted! There always seemed to be something more urgent that took her focus away from what she really wanted to do.
Distraction is one the sneakiest and most effective tools that Satan and the world around us use to keep the Christian’s focus away from Jesus and work he has called us to do in his Kingdom. Paul often uses the image of an athlete running a race pressing on toward the ultimate goal of winning the prize – getting to the finishing line and winning the victor’s crown. To do this requires focus, determination, commitment, and no distractions.
If you watch athletes as they prepare for a race whether it’s running or swimming, many wear headphones. This is helping them to block out all distractions – the cheering crowds, possible heckling, focusing their mind and energy completely on the task that is front of them – getting to the finish line in the best time they have ever performed. Focus is ever so important. Athletes who don’t perform as well as they expected will often admit that something went wrong during their race – they lost that all important focus.
The apostle Paul had his own battle with distraction. In one of his letters, Paul is distracted by his own weakness. He knows what good things he ought to do be doing but he does the very opposite. He says, “I don't understand why I act the way I do. … Instead of doing what I know is right, I do wrong” Romans 7:15, 19). Sin has a real grip on him. He feels a prisoner of sin. It controls everything he does. It distracts him no end and makes him feel miserable as he focuses on to his own weakness. He is distressed at how easily sin distracts him.
Then there is the time he is distracted by what he calls “a thorn in the flesh”. This physical ailment really bothers him and prays and prays that God would take it away. For a while this problem takes all his energy and time as he focuses his prayers on a cure. I think we can all relate to this. Something that goes wrong in our bodies can be terribly distracting. It absorbs our mind and energy and leaves little room for anything else. There’s nothing more distracting than pain.
In each of these cases, when Paul is distracted by the depth of his own sin, or the pain in his own body, his focus was turned back to Jesus. In that moment these distractions are no longer a force that pulled him away from Jesus but drew him closer to Jesus. No one can help him when he is distracted by sin and pain – only Jesus. His sombre description of himself, “What a miserable man I am!” turns into a victory cry, “Thank you Jesus for winning the victory for me!”
Maybe this has been your experience as it has been mine. You are facing a frightening moment – maybe that moment just before going into surgery. It’s only when you turn your focus away from your fear and toward Jesus and his promises, and say, “Jesus, I am placing everything in your hands. I know you love me, and my family and you will do what is best. I am in your hands”, that this terrifying distraction fades away. Knowing Jesus and that we belong to him is the most precious thing that we have.
Sources
Vince Gerhardy Blog
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