‘Don’t get sidetracked.’ Proverbs 4:27 NLT
How easy do you find it to keep focused? Every day we’re constantly bombarded with things that can distract us from what we’re supposed to be doing. We face all kinds of interruptions, from notifications on our phones to other people asking us to do things for them. God created each of us with a purpose. He has things He wants us to do. The Bible says: ‘We are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do’ (Ephesians 2:10 NIV). But we can easily find ourselves distracted by other things. In today’s society, we’re expected to be busy. If we’re not busy and efficient, we’re often seen as unsuccessful. But God never called us to be rushed off our feet. In fact, Jesus often took Himself away from the crowds in order to spend time alone with God. There will always be more we can do, never-ending to-do lists, and things we have to achieve, but we can’t allow busyness to take us away from time with God or from doing what He’s called us to do. Also, we can be influenced by other people. We might know what God wants us to do, but we’re worried about letting other people down so we try and incorporate their expectations and demands into our lives too. But God tells us to not be distracted by other things. In Proverbs 4, we’re told: ‘Let your eyes look straight ahead; fix your gaze directly before you…Do not turn to the right or the left’ (vv.25-27 NIV). And in Colossians, it says: ‘Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things’ (3:2 NIV). We need to be focused on what God wants us to do, not what other people want us to do. What Now? For the rest of this week, mark out 20 minutes each day where you stop, put away your phone, and spend time alone with God. Don’t let anything else get in the way of that time.