What if we were so focused on the mission of Christ that we could only be distracted by Jesus Himself? We live in a world designed to distract, and few of us are very good at resisting the siren call of a pleasant distraction. It’s always easier to do the more comfortable things than the difficult. Living as a disciple of Jesus will never be easy. If it is, you probably aren’t living for Him.
Jesus promised us we would have trouble in this world (John 16:33). We often think in terms of persecution or being mocked when we read that verse, but distraction wreaks havoc in our lives and causes all sorts of trouble. Nothing will knock you off course faster than a distraction, and distractions are the killer of all dreams. No one can be on mission and distracted at the same time.
But what if being distracted by Jesus was the only distraction that could capture our attention? What if our lives were so in tune with Him and His mission for our lives that we never looked up unless He spoke? That’s the life I want to live. We already know logically nothing is better than Jesus. Jesus is eternal, everything else is temporary. Every distraction in this world is but a poor and cloudy reflection of something Jesus has already created in perfection. If we step back and examine what we allow to distract us from Jesus, we will see whatever it is, it is pure lunacy. Only the mission of Jesus and the work He has given us to do matters. Everything else is worthless folly.
I want to be aware of His presence in every moment of my life. As I am busy being His hands and feet, I never want to miss the voice of Jesus interrupting my day. There are thousands of moments every day when we can be Jesus to someone. It may just be to offer a smile, an encouraging word, or a helping hand. There are countless times each day we could reflect the love and character of Jesus, but we brush off the prompting of the Holy Spirit because we decide we can’t be bothered. We tell ourselves someone else will come along to help or encourage the one in need. But What if they don’t show up? The call of every disciple of Jesus is to be His hands and feet in every moment of our lives.
Why is it we allow everything to distract us, but we refuse to be distracted by Jesus? It seems He speaks to us in the most inconvenient times. This should only remind us of how messed up our priorities are. How is it we’ve allowed any time to not be the right time for Jesus? We need to flip the script. Instead of pursuing our desires and ignoring the divine appointments in our path, we need to focus intensely on Christ and be eagerly anticipating the next time Jesus will distract us. Being distracted by Jesus should never be an inconvenience, but an incredible blessing and privilege. Ask God to make you so focused on His work that you can only be distracted by Jesus. We all need to reframe the way we live, so we are glorifying Christ and doing His will on earth as it is in Heaven.