Distractions

A good friend once told me that if the devil doesn’t get you with sin, he’ll get you distracted.

Her words played back in my mind as I read Hebrews 12:1b which says, Let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which so easily ensnares us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us.

This is a well-known passage; however, I had never noticed the first part that calls us to lay aside “every weight”. How these words spoke to my heart at that moment!

For years, I had struggled with a relation that used to drag me down.  Because I cared deeply, my efforts to "rescue" this person and our relationship consumed a great deal of my energy and attention.  The pain at my failed attempts was so deep, the weight of this burden so heavy, there were times I felt like I couldn’t go on.

Have you ever felt like that?

That passage in Hebrews helped me understand that the very unhealthy role I had assumed on my own pulled me down like a weight tied around my neck. I was able to see the hand of the enemy in this situation and how he’d used it to hinder my walk with Christ. How could I serve the Lord and seek to fulfill His plans for me when so much of my emotional energy and focus laid elsewhere. 

Though it felt as if I was failing my loved one and giving up on our relationship, I knew I needed to let go. I made a conscious decision to put this life – so precious and dear to me – and any future relationship between us in God’s hands, trusting He'd be more than able to care for my dear one. I was done carrying such heavy a burden; done getting distracted. I had a race to run!

How about you, dear friend?  How does Satan distract you? How does he keep you away from God’s path and His amazing plan for your life?  Does he ensnare you with greed, jealousy, or addiction? Does he consume you with fear, shame, or regret?  Or does he overwhelm you with a toxic relationship you can never fix?

As much as I hate to admit it, the devil is good at what he does.  He knows exactly how to get us distracted. But God is able to help us get back on the right track.

May He open our eyes to recognize evil traps and give us the grace to avert them so that we may be free and able to effectively run the race of life He has set before us, without any ensnares or distractions.