Time and again I have to remind myself to remember what really matters. No matter what’s going on in my life or yours, what we are doing for Jesus is all that will count in the end. So many things fill our days and compete for our attention that it is all too easy to have our time consumed by everything but Christ. Several days or even a week or more can roll by before I recognize this issue creeping into my life. It’s particularly bothersome when my starting point is always to do something for Jesus, and along the way, Jesus gets left behind. We start moving in our own strength and following our own ideas instead of moving in sync with Him.
It helps to recall my mantra for the year to help me refocus: I will glorify Christ with every thought, every word, and every action. When I remember to revisit my mantra several times daily, it is much more difficult to veer off course. Ironically the same busyness that shoves me off course also restricts or even eliminates the time I have to review the mantra! I think Satan uses busyness as a primary tool. The world today moves so much faster and with so many more distractions than ever before. While some of these things are good and useful, Satan always finds ways to twist them to benefit his goals.
In the midst of the whirlwind it can be difficult to remember to listen for the still small voice of the Holy Spirit. We can easily lose our way by focusing on the material world around us rather than on God’s spiritual truth. Anytime we begin looking to ourselves for an answer, we have abandoned Jesus. While we want to live our lives for Him and demonstrate His love to others, sometimes along the way we simply lose focus of why we do what we do. That’s when we must slow down and recalibrate.
Satan sets out every day to distract us from following Jesus. He marshals His forces to attack us in subtle but powerful ways. Strategies are formulated every minute with the sole focus of getting our eyes off of Christ. Satan knows he can’t defeat us because God is too strong. Instead he does what he can to render us ineffective for the Kingdom. Unless we put forth the same diligence to focus on Jesus every day that Satan does to distract us from Him, we will be easy targets.
The best way to defeat busyness and distraction is to constantly remind yourself of why you are doing what you do. This is best accomplished by engaging in constant prayer with your Creator. Just as old friends drift apart with a lack of communication, so goes our intimacy with Christ. If we’re not communicating, we won’t be able to live for Him. Keep in touch; He’s always there beside us. Don’t allow what you are doing to obscure why you are doing it. If we lose track of Who we are living for, what we do won’t matter anyway. Don’t fall for cheap distractions or the blur of busyness. Remember what matters.