Overcoming Distraction: Finding Focus in God

Devotion, Inspiration, Personal Development

The Cost of Not Overcoming Distraction

In Judges 13 we’re introduced to a hunky man of God named Samson, with luscious hair and the strength to tear a lion to pieces. Pretty much what any Christian girl is looking for, right? Well, you may be surprised to learn that for being such a biblical heartthrob, his story is ultimately one of distraction.

Samson was one of God’s chosen judges, born a miracle from a mother who was barren. As part of his consecration to God and his calling to bring down the Philistines, one of Israel’s fiercest enemies, Samson’s destiny included never cutting his luscious locks. From the moment he entered the world, he had an incredible anointing from God on his life.

But Samson lost focus. Something shiny caught his eye: a beautiful Philistine woman. Yes, a woman who was part of the tribe that Samson was raised to defeat. Ultimately, he allowed Delilah to steal his God-given strength and purpose, cutting his consecrated hair and tricking him into being captured by the Philistines.

Judges 16:20 says, “But he [Samson] did not know that the Lord had left him.” He assumed all the way down the road of sin and distraction that the Lord was with him. But Samson had so far removed himself from relationship with God and allowed lust to distract him that he was oblivious when the Lord quietly departed from him.

Distraction has a cost. At first it feels harmless and exciting and pleasurable. But if we journey down its road for too long, we’ll find ourselves at a dead end. The temptation will be to camp out at the end of the road, zipping ourselves up and blocking out the problem, because getting serious about our distractions might require serious energy. But the long-term consequences of letting distractions win over and over again takes far more time than confronting them, reorienting with God, and admitting to Him what overwhelms us. Distraction has a way of sweeping us up, up, and away from reality. It disconnects us from reality. And as followers of Christ, our lives really matter. They matter now, and they matter for eternity.

I don’t want you to forget: You have an important role to play in God’s kingdom. You have a purposeful mission to live out each day. You have assignments, callings, gifts, and responsibilities to steward. You are needed by so many to show up and shine the light of Christ. While there are parts of life we can’t escape, there are also many parts we willingly volunteer to be overwhelmed by, distractions we choose to soothe our overwhelm that end up adding to it instead. But the comfort of distractions never lasts, and the consequences of distractions are serious.

Think about it: Working distracted makes us less productive. Driving distracted makes us dangerous. Studying distracted makes us less likely to do well on a test. Scrolling distracted while talking to our spouses makes us inattentive and, dare I say, disrespectful. And living spiritually distracted for a sustained period makes our souls suffer.

Steps for Overcoming Distraction in Daily Life

Rather than letting ourselves be lulled into complacency, we need to put up a fight. We need to change our minds and hearts—and thus our actions—and the first step in doing that is acknowledging a disconnect between us and Jesus, a distraction that is coming between that relationship.

Naming What Keeps You from Overcoming Distraction

Can you name one thing that has diminished your ability to keep in step with Jesus? I sure can: social media, school, money, possessions, sin, world news – the list goes on.

The second step is getting real and honest in our hearts. After mentally acknowledging what has created a disconnect between us and our heavenly Father, we have to address the heart—or as Proverbs puts it, our true motivator. This step requires not only asking ourselves a sincere question but giving a sincere answer.

The question: Do you like being distracted? Your answer will make all the difference.

Friend, I’m not going to sugarcoat it for you. Distraction brought me a crazy level of comfort and happiness. Binging Gilmore Girls for three hours after Hunter went to bed was my “me” time. Watching hilarious Instagram reels and admiring other people’s aesthetic lives for hours on end entertained me like nothing else. Each pleasure met me with comfort, relaxation, and an escape when life was more than I could handle.

But this is where it gets sticky. If we’re being honest, a lot of us don’t see distraction as a detriment to our souls. We don’t see the problem. Don’t we deserve to enjoy what makes us feel happy and rested? Don’t we deserve a little relief and entertainment when we work hard or when life is hard? Is distraction really that soul deep? What if it’s just the norm in this thing we call the twenty-first century?

I’ve said it once and I’ll say it again: There’s nothing inherently sinful about enjoying your life. After all, God gave you this life! He didn’t create you for a flat, boring, one-dimensional existence. He created you for a full-color, multidimensional life—one He longs for you to enjoy in its fullness, with all His good creation. But are those things distracting you from what you were created for first and foremost?

Intimate attachment to God.

Wholehearted devotion to God.

Relationship and friendship with God.

I don’t know about you, but I don’t want to have a Samson ending of my own. I don’t want to look back and realize I was pulled in every direction except toward God. I don’t want to find that my view of God was fuzzy and out of focus the whole time, while the temporal things of life were crystal clear.

The Blessing of Overcoming Distraction With God

I’m not here to tell you to quit your job, stop taking care of your family, throw in the towel at school, or sit on your hands until Jesus comes again. What I am saying is that not only is it possible to keep up with God and keep Him first, even when life is busy and distracting, but it’s a blessing. A blessing worth chasing time and time again, no matter how often we’ve messed up or lost focus.

Devotion is how we were knit together. Attachment to the Word Himself, not the world, is how we were created to thrive. When we live in the way that God created us, we find rest. We find comfort. We find satisfaction. No matter how many storms, struggles, and temptations arise, when we follow the path our Good Shepherd desires to lead us on, we will never be left wanting. We will always be fully satisfied.

Netflix and Instagram may provide a hit of dopamine or a retreat from reality, and they definitely have their perks, but those perks are fleeting for our souls. A well that will always run out, a cistern too broken to hold anything of value. But how our souls really, truly, and deeply find satisfaction is through devoting ourselves to God.