In a perfect world, I would focus on my relationship with God all the time and spend my life making disciples. Unfortunately, we live in a fallen world that distracts me from my faith every single day. I constantly have to remind myself not to let life get in the way of my relationship with God. And yet, it still happens because I’m human, and “No one is good except God alone.” (Luke 18:19)
My Biggest Distractions
So, what are my biggest distractions to my Christian faith? My loved ones, my chronic illness, work and my dreams, social media, and TV.
I’m focused on my family a lot of the time. Do they need anything? Are they okay? Am I spending enough time with them? I ask myself the same questions when it comes to my friends. Pets are on my mind too because I’m their sole provider of food and love.
My chronic illness is always on my mind because I’m always in pain. I’m dealing with abnormal symptoms all the time that I need to keep in check with medicine so they don’t flare-up.
Work demands my full attention and when I’m not working, I’m thinking about what I need to do to make my dreams of becoming a best-selling author come true.
Now, let’s consider how much time we all spend on social media and watching TV. All that wasted time could be spent on Bible study and prayer. Instead, when we’re bored and we want to relax, we put ourselves in front of a screen for some mindless entertainment.
What Am I Going To Do?
A better question than “what are my biggest distractions to my Christian faith?” is “what am I going to do about them?”
When it comes to family and friends, I’m going to ask myself “Am I witnessing to them enough?” Instead of thinking about the pain and symptoms of my chronic illness, I’m going to think about heaven, where my body will be made new. I’m going to do my job as if I’m working for God and write books that show people who Jesus is. When my mind thinks about scrolling through social media or watching TV, I’m going to ask myself if I’ve spent enough time in prayer and Bible study yet that day.
Not letting life get in the way of your relationship with God takes a lot of self-discipline. The ability to be self-disciplined about Christianity takes faith.
James 1:5 says, “If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask God, who gives generously to all without reproach, and it will be given him.”
Matthew 7:7 says, “Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you.”
Matthew 21:22 says, “And whatever you ask in prayer, you will receive, if you have faith.”
Dawn DiFiore 