Practical Steps to Managing Your Distractions
Have you heard about Jesus, know who He is, but haven’t made it a priority to learn more about Him, go to church, pray, read the Bible? Do you think that you have so much to do that you don’t have the time? Well, you are not the only person who has problems with distractions. You begin working on something you feel is high priority, or maybe just more interesting, only to find out that you are not really working on the right thing?
The Bible even talks about distractions in a story of two sisters, Martha and Mary. Martha invites Jesus to visit in her home. While Martha is focused on preparing for her guest, Mary sits with Jesus listening to Him. Martha gets upset with Mary for sitting instead of helping and brings her complaint to Jesus. Can you imagine how she must have approached Jesus, possibly with hands on her hips, or arms flailing? To her surprise, Jesus reorders her priorities. He says to her, “Martha, Martha…you are worried and upset about many things, but only one thing is needed. Mary has chosen what is better.” The encounter can be found in Luke 10:38-42.
In Martha’s case, she is doing something that is good- preparing for her guest- but it is not the priority. What is consuming your time? Studying? Friends? Obligations to family? You are not alone in trying to do it all and not setting aside the appropriate time to spend with Jesus. It happens to all of us if we are not careful. And like Martha, we feel that the things we are doing are priority, but we have to be willing to listen to Jesus, especially when He points out to us the error of our ways. We have to stop and give Him our undivided attention.
We have to review our schedules and see what we are setting as priorities. Sometimes we don’t even realize it, but anything that hinders us from spending time with Jesus has been given a higher priority rating. I am not saying we need to set aside hours each day, but some time. If you don’t know what is consuming your time, then track a few of your days. Jot down the activity and how much time you spend on that activity. Maybe you can spend the time you travel in your car to pray instead of merely listening to the music. Maybe you can devote 10 minutes during your lunch hour to read your Bible or a devotion. Be creative. If you cannot identify a large amount of time, start small. Once you begin to enjoy the time you spend with Jesus, you will find other opportunities will present themselves.
It’s time to give Jesus the priority He deserves.
