Psalm 16:11 (NLT): You will show me the way of life, granting me the joy of your presence and the pleasures of living with you forever.

We live in a world filled with distractions that can significantly influence our spiritual growth and obedience if we are not careful.

Here is the last of three ways that seemingly little distractions can have a great impact:

3. Worldly distractions can keep us from enjoying the Lord’s presence.

One day, Jesus went to visit Mary and Martha who were both delighted to welcome their beloved teacher into their home. The account in Luke 10 invites us to learn an important lesson: “Her sister Mary sat at the Lord’s feet and listened to His teaching, but Martha was distracted with much serving.” She was distracted from actually spending time with Jesus.

We can be distracted by things we’re sincerely doing to please Jesus. Good things. But Jesus doesn’t want us to be doing for Him at the expense of being with Him.

Our Lord is sympathetic to the demands of life that pull at us. Consider His few years of ministry on earth: Sick people wanted to be healed. Lame people wanted to walk. Blind people wanted to see. The Pharisees and Sadducees wanted to debate Him. His disciples wanted to elevate Him. How many just simply wanted to be with Him?

Jesus frequently went off by Himself to a quiet place to enjoy fellowship with His Father. He beckons us to do the same because there is fullness of joy in His presence and endless pleasures at His right hand (Ps. 16:11).

Finally, God wants to teach us how to be at rest in the midst of the chaos and confusion of this world. That’s what God is drilling down more deeply in me these days. Regardless of what distractions, pressures, trials, or sufferings are coming at me at any given moment, my heart will only be truly at rest when it’s fixed on Christ. The more I put my trust in God’s goodness and sovereign control over every circumstance of my life, the less unexpected or hard things can steal the peace or joy I have been given in Christ.

I cherish my times of fellowship with the Lord each morning. I wish I could be like Jesus in my reliance on the Father. Nothing kept Him from the work He had come to do. Jesus was:

  • Fully aware that many followed Him just to get something from Him, yet He steadfastly committed to showing them their greater need.
  • Always moving closer toward the cross where sinful men would crucify Him, yet never wavering from the mission He came to fulfill.

God calls us to a life where distractions fade and His voice becomes the One we listen to first and foremost . . .

  • When our strength is gone and our faith is weak.
  • When we’re feeling good and our faith is strong.

This is the life God calls us to as He weans us from the world’s counterfeits of peace, joy, strength, and security. As we learn to increasingly depend on Christ for our every need and desire, we find that God’s peace and joy well up in us like a fountain and, even when everything around us is shaken, our confidence and hope in Christ remains. Adapted from Revive Our Hearts

Are there any worldly distractions you need to repent of and put aside in order to seek the Lord?

Prayer: Father in heaven i am calling out to You. The world is bombarding me with counterfeits. The lies of many are piling up. The false doctrines are rampant. The half-truths are growing almost daily. Show me Your word so I can measure the madness against what You say is good, and right, and true, and of a godly focus. I need Your peace to wade through the day. I pray and give thanks in the name of the One who said to sit and learn at His feet is most desirable, Jesus Christ, Amen.