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The Dangers of Distractions in the Life of a Christian

In the series on “Avoiding Distractions“, we have already looked at “How to Avoid Distractions to Our Christian Faith” and “Avoiding Distractions and Living a Victorious Life: A Case Study of Mary and Martha“. In this lesson, we will be discussing “The Dangers of Distractions in the Life of a Christian”

One major aim of distractions is to spoil the testimony of the salvation we received in Christ Jesus.

From the story in Luke 9:57-62, it is clear that at one point in time we can be committed to the things of God, but along the way, the care of life and the pleasure of this world can take away our eyes from the Master.

What are the Dangers of Distractions in the Life of a Christian?

1. The person will not go to heaven unless he or she makes amendment before death or rapture takes place – Luke 9:62
2. Toiling and struggling to survive in life and this can result in frustration and depression – Luke 5:5
3. Complaining and murmuring against God, which always lead to both physical and spiritual death – Numbers 11:1
4. Absence of God’s presence which exposes a Christian to attacks from the powers of darkness – 1st Samuel 19:9
5. We can open a door for deception and lie from the enemy knowingly or unknowingly – Genesis 3:1-11
6. Being occupied with earthly things and the pleasure of this world, which are temporary: Demas has left me because he loved the things of this world – 2nd Timothy 4:10
7. Abuse of the liberty we have in Christ when we first believed – Galatians 5:1-2

How to Avoid the Dangers of Distractions

1. By watching and praying at all times – Luke 21:34-36
2. By taking heed and standing firm under the grace of God – 1st Corinthians 10:12

Prayers

• Lord Jesus, grant unto me the grace to be focused on You and to live a life of total obedience
• Father, grant me the spirit of a finisher and let me have a testimony like Apostle Paul
• Father, my life is in your hands. Keep me to the end of my race

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Avoiding Distractions and Living a Victorious Life: A Case Study of Mary and Martha

What is a distraction?

• A thing that prevents concentration
• A diversion
• Extreme agitation of the mind

The main purpose of the devil is to distract us as he has been doing from the beginning. He distracted Eve and destroyed Adam’s destiny. Distractions destroy destiny.

Jesus was invited to the house of Mary and Martha and being the Lord of Lords, it was expected that Martha would focus on the words of the Saviour but she was too occupied with trying to impress. Her intentions were good but her actions were a distraction. Our daily habits and actions can create a great distraction to our relationship with God.

Jesus went up early in the morning to pray and seek the Lord. If our environment is too noisy we may lose the connection that we need to create an atmosphere of closeness with God.

Some of us are too stimulated, we are afraid of silence but God likes stillness – Psalms 46:10. We need quietness for a good prayer life and for hearing God. A life of prayer leads to power and victory but distractions can keep us away from the place of prayer.

Emotional Distractions and Biblical Solutions

1. Negative thinking – Phil 4:8
2. Judgemental attitude – Luke 6:37
3. Doubt- James 1:8
4. Unforgiveness – Luke 6:37
5. Pride – psalms 1:1
6. Self-condemnation – Eph 2:8

Physical Distractions and Biblical Solutions

1. Noisy environment – minimise noise as best as you can
2. Phones or gadgets – switch them off
3. Lack of good sleep – get some good sleep when you can
4. People – chatting in church during prayer and worship (be aware)
5. Untidy environment – clean your house
6. Ignorance of the Word of God – read the Bible constantly.
7. Lack of planning or daily priority setting – use a dairy.

Practical Steps to Avoid Distractions

1. Think about what you are thinking before you take action – Matthew 9:4
2. Beware of your environment and your location at any given time – 2nd Samuel 11:2
3. Watch out for what your eyes, ears, and mind receive from the external world and confirm if it is Godly – 1st Corinthian 2:9
4. Don’t deny yourself of the reality about your feeling and personal challenges. Deal with it without any delay – Judges 16:1-2
5. Avoid any conversation that is contrary to what God says or His promises to you – Genesis 3:1-5
6. Avoid taking a decision when you are tired and angry – 1st King 19:4
7. Always learn from past mistakes and from people ahead of you, their success, and their failure – 1st Samuel 2:12-17. Eli & Samuel

Conclusion

Ephesians 5:15-16 (NKJV) – See then that you walk circumspectly, not as a fool but as wise, redeeming the time because the days are evil.

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How to Avoid Distractions to Our Christian Faith

What is a distraction? A thing that prevents someone from concentration on something else, extreme agitation of mind. (Oxford Dictionaries).  We will learn in this outline how to avoid distractions.

The environment we live in and our daily activities demand a lot of attention and it is now becoming very hard to manage our time because of the pressure from family, social interaction and the pursuit of life goals and aspiring to become what the society defines as success.

It is not wrong to be ambitious and aspiring to be great in life.  God wants His children to be the best in all that we do both in our secular work and every other area of our lives.

3 John 1:2 – Beloved, I pray that you may prosper in all things and be in health, even as your soul prospers…

Hebrew 12:2 says: “Looking unto Jesus, the author and the finisher of our faith, Who for the Joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the Throne of God…”

It is not possible to be looking at two directions at the same time. When we look up to the sky it becomes very hard to look down at the same time, any attempt to look up and down at the same time will lead to frustration and confusion and doublemindedness.

What Should I do to Avoid Distractions?

1. Learning the lifestyle of Jesus Christ. He was both man and God, yet He went to the wedding and ate with sinners. John 1:1-10, Luke 5:27-32. Jesus knew why He came to this world and He focussed on it – we need to focus on God.
2. Shut your spiritual eyes and ears to the noise of men and opinions especially if it doesn’t match the word of promise – 2 kings 2:3.
3. Determination is a signal that you know what you want in life. Elijah told Elisha to stay here. Elisha refused. 2 Kings 2:1-8.
4. Get connected to a good Christian and trusted mentor and learn from them as much as you can for your Future Journey – 1 King 19:1-21.
5. Write down your vision and make it plain on the tablet. What you write down and see every day automatically shapes your way of thinking and reminds you of where you are going – Habakkuk 2:2.
6. Learn to prioritise your daily, weekly, monthly and yearly plans both physical and Spiritual. John 11:1-16, Ecclesiastes 3:1-8. Abandon time-wasting activities.
7. Always take note of what you are watching, seeing and listening to on a daily basis and feed your spirit man and your mind with reading good books and associating with people of vision – Matthew 14:28-30.

Conclusion

Everybody is prone to distractions these days because we live in an age of information overload.

We get both useful and not so useful information downloaded to us daily but we have a choice to watch our eyes and ears from getting contaminated. With the help of the Holy Spirit and prayer, we can overcome every activity that the enemy is introducing into our lives in order to distract us.

Remember when Peter walked on water, as long as He kept His eyes on Jesus, He was able to do the miraculous but when He took His eyes off Jesus Christ, He began to sink.

When we feel we are sinking, it is a sign that we may have taken our eyes off our saviour.