ROOTED RENEGADE

Some people can be distractions in our lives. Like we saw in the last modus operandi, with Samson and Delilah, people can be used to keep us from accomplishing all that God has for us. We see it Nehemiah as well, when he was continually facing Sanballat and Tobiah.

Today we don’t just deal with people, we deal with technology. It has become a major distraction in our society. Kids and young adults are glued to screens more than ever before. Their attention is split between apps on social media, videos, movies, shorts, etc. Some use a laptop, tablet, and cell phone at the same time, each with something different on them. I will say some use them for school, but it is still various bites of information coming all at once. 

And all of us have distractions like this in our daily lives. Doom scrolling on socials, checking out to series on TV, online shopping and gambling, etc. Relaxing has turned into having some form of tech in our faces and many people don’t know how to relax with it.

When we have constant information coming at us in quick bites, it can be hard to rest our brains by getting quiet. And when we are unable to get quiet, we will have a hard time hearing God clearly.

Let me say that I know God can speak to us through a reel on Insta or some other app. He can use those He has called to make social media a platform for Him and can reach us in ways that others cannot. But He is the ultimate source that we must plug into. 

Taking time to get offline and focus on our relationship with God is essential. Our brains also need the reset.

There are other ways we are easily distracted as well. Work, busyness, to-do lists, and others. When Jesus got onto Martha because she was mad at Mary, it was a gentle correction that we all need from time to time. We get so busy with our schedules that we lose sight of spending quality time with Jesus. He absolutely loves it when we make time for Him. Special time. Time that is not interrupted by chores. Time that is consecrated and set apart for Him only. Moments where the only thing that matters is sitting in His presence and loving on Him.

I hear my pastor talk about this all the time but it took me a while to learn it. I was a doer. It was how I felt validated, accepted, and loved. The more I could do for you the greater chance I had at gaining your affection. It was really hard for me to slow down, take a pause, and step back. God sent a few great women along my path that helped me see that perfectionism and performance don’t equate to intimate relationship.

I think that bears repeating: Perfectionism and performance don’t equate to an intimate relationship.

Quite the opposite, they distract us from it. They cause us to only think that Jesus will accept us, be proud of us, or love us if we do, do do and do it all well. 

We can do things well, with a spirit of excellence and still not walk in perfectionism or performance. God is not looking for us to do either. If we never did another thing in our lives, He would still love us, still want us, and still value us as His children.

It’s important for us to get to a place where we lay all the distractions we are facing at the feet of Jesus and ask for His help in dealing with them. Also, that we ask for Holy Spirit’s help to get quiet so we can not only hear more clearly, but learn how to love on Jesus more deeply. 

Because this giant of distraction is always going to come at us in one way or another. Especially as our world continues to shift and technological advances increase. 

I also believe that each time we beat a distraction and stay focused on what God has called us to do, it weakens its hold on us. To the point where something that used to always throw us off no longer has a hold on us. 

Let’s keep slaying these giants one by one!

Faythe