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Here we are at the end of July. I have one week left before things take off and get crazy for me. Fall sports and teacher meetings start on August 8, and thus starts my busiest time of year. School and softball begin, and my energy and focus is there. Making sure the year gets off on the right foot and making sure my team is ready to go day in and day out become my top priorities.
I am often distracted from household things (cooking, cleaning, etc.) during this time of year. But have no fear, because my wonderful wife is Queen of the Slow Cooker Meals. That is actually her title, as our Crockpot gets the most use of the year during months 8-10. Usually, I do the cooking in our family, but she is so awesome and knows how crazy I am at this time, so she will throw something in to help me out. There is nothing better than walking in the door after a 12- or 13-hour day and smelling some Crockpot concoction.
Another thing that I get distracted from is the Lord and what He wants from me. My time in His Word takes a hit. My time talking with Him in prayer also wanes. It is something I try not to let happen, but it does. What’s amazing is that it doesn’t have to be the busiest time of year for me to get distracted from the Lord. In fact, even at my least busy time of year, I seem to get off course.
These obstructions between ourselves and God seem to be Satan’s greatest weapon, especially against those who have a relationship with the Lord. I mean, it makes sense. If he can’t get our soul, he’ll distract us from having a fulfilling relationship with our Heavenly Father. Of course, those distractions seem harmless. In some cases they even seem noble. The big three in our society today seem to be stress, social media, and entertainment. But the fact of the matter is, we have to put God first. We can’t get distracted from our relationship with Him.
Stress, otherwise known as, “I’m so busy,” is certainly at the top of the distraction pyramid. In America, we are busy people. We work long days, come home and take care of the house and yard, run the kids to some event, do more of our day job from home, and on and on. We even train our kids to do the same, and I see that non-stop busy feeling all around my students at school every day.
I look to my own daughter, who in high school was a three-sport athlete, was majorly involved in theater, kept her grades at a high level, was active in numerous clubs, and spent time with friends. Now she’s in college, studying to be a teacher while keeping her stunt (cheer) scholarship, working part time at a local retail store, and coaching high school cheer, plus still keeping up her social life. Here she is, about to turn 21, and if she isn’t busy, she doesn’t know what to do with herself.
That being said, there is nothing wrong with being busy. I told you I’m about to enter my busiest time of year, but it is also one of my favorite times of year. I think about Martha in the book of Luke, and the story of Jesus coming to visit her and Mary. Martha was running around preparing dinner for all these people that had arrived. She was doing what was noble, what was good. She was probably even excited about making a fantastic meal for Jesus. But she was distracted from mattered most, and the Lord told her as much. We all get busy, but even though we are hard at work, we can’t let that energy or stress divert us from searching for God’s will in our life through scripture and prayer.
Oftentimes, because our busy lives lead to stress, we look for any outlet to steal a few moments for ourselves. Instead of going to the Lord, we often stay distracted by scrolling through our phones. Social media has got to be one of Satan’s best distractors. It permeates most people’s lives in one way or another; because of technology, it is always with us. The smoke break has been replaced by the 10-minute phone break. It doesn’t matter if your endless scrolling is catching up with friends or looking at garbage, social media distracts.
I know there are days that I have spent way too much time looking for sports info, catching up with friends and family, or watching funny videos. Social media can be a black hole that sucks your attention away from many things, and certainly from the Lord. I know there have been numerous times that I have said, “I’m so busy,” but if I take the different times during the day where I spent five or ten minutes on some platform and instead used that time to go to the Lord in prayer or read a part of my Bible (which can also always be with us on our phones), how much better would my relationship with the Lord be? How much more fulfilling would my life be?
What’s ironic, of course, is that you probably found this blog while on social media. There are other ways to enrich your relationship with the Lord besides reading the Bible and praying. Reading other books on Christian living, looking at social ministry rather than social media, or listening to praise music are some ways to help keep your eyes where they belong.
Of course we can get lost in other things besides social media. See if this sounds familiar: It has been a long day. You get home, eat a bite, take a shower, and plop down on the couch and veg out to some show on TV for the next hour+ before dragging your tired butt to bed. I put this scenario here not because I’m pointing fingers at anyone else, but because I have lived it time and time again. There is nothing wrong with wanting to relax. However, I know that I’ve been convicted that there are times that sports, a TV show, or a movie I am watching is hindering my relationship with the Lord. Some of that time spent sprawled out on my couch could be spent talking with the Lord or reading His word.
Now don’t get me wrong, I’m not trying to say you should tell your boss that you can’t work on that portfolio because you have to spend time with Jesus. Or that you should never make another post or scroll through Insta and that your TV should be put out in Thursday’s trash pickup.
What I’m saying is we need to realize that all of these things can be great distractors from the Lord. Paul even said in his letter to the Ephesians to make the best use of our time, because the times are evil. If Paul was saying this back then, without all of the modern distractors, how much more does the evil one have at his disposal to throw up obstacles for us now?
The key is finding a balance. Only you and God know what that balance is for you. I know that the Lord has convicted me about all of these things at one time or another. This is nothing new, as Satan has been distracting followers of Jesus since the beginning. Anyone remember why Peter sank while walking on the water? We struggle with the same thing; we just have new distractions that take our eyes off Him.
The key is, even when we fail, we must keep trying to not let those distractions rule our life, but rather to let God have control. My challenge to myself over the next month, and I hope you join in, is to really take notice of those distractions when they are occurring and to work on finding that Godly balance that leads to a better relationship with Christ, and thus a more fulfilling life. Until next month, keep moving forward.
Great read! Thanks Coach! Say a prayer or two for Bob please.
Great reminder and very relatable examples. My mom used to turn the ringer off on our phone at 8:30 very week night. I hated it as a kid but I think I might need to give it another try.
That’s a good one.
Thank you son. Great words for the busy believer. I love you.