First off, let me start by saying it’s great to have people in your life to help you stay accountable. It is an even greater blessing when you are surrounded by people who help keep you accountable in your walk with Christ. This can happen both directly and indirectly.

The other day I was having a conversation with a friend. Someone I look up to and enjoy the fact that we often have different views on almost everything. Yet we can always respect each other’s differences, agree to disagree and always walk away from a conversation learning something new. On this particular day we were going over current issues and goals that he has set for himself in a thirty, sixty, ninety-day fashion. Within this goal setting he also made sure to focus on his walk with Christ being that he is a leader in the church. We then got on the topic of distractions and how although we may not identify something right away as a distraction, we must set a time to reflect and weigh what is worth our time and what is not. If we misstep, we can always look back and see where we permitted a person or situation to cause us to take our eyes off Jesus.

The funny thing about this conversation was that the Lord was just dealing with me about distractions a few days before this conversation took place. Clearly, I was not picking up what He was putting down being that it took an additional conversation for the words He had given me earlier in the week to be spoken and released into the atmosphere for me to have a great ah ha moment.

In having the conversation with my friend, the Lord was revealing to me through words that He laid on my heart that I was heading in the same direction. Permitting distraction to take me off my course of action. This was not a loud, finger shaking in my face, call to action. But rather a gentle nudge that said, “hey just want to bring something to your attention because I love you and want to spend more time with you.”

I then began to wonder, how does this happen? Especially when the Lord calls to us and we for sure know that He is. This reminds me of when the scripture tells us of the still small voice of God (see 1 King 19:11-13). Is it because He is that still small voice located in the knowing that we tend to dismiss the tug that He places on our hearts in hopes that we adhere to the call of correction? Is it the gift of free will that He has given us since the beginning of time where we are so quick to dismiss such a calling in order to go on about our own business which most of the time is not in line with Gods business?

I think the answer depends on what we are going through at the time. Although being on the outside looking in one would suggest that God should always come first. But let’s be honest. The selfish nature of man paired with the hustle and bustle of everyday life can easily derailed our efforts in keeping our eyes fixed on Jesus.

Is there anything that you have recently identified as a distraction that may be causing you to spend more time on things rather than balancing your life with Jesus being at the center?  

But my eyes are upon You, O God the Lord;
In You I take refuge;
Do not leave my soul destitute.

Psalm 141:8