Take a moment to visualize an afternoon walk. Instead of visualizing yourself on a quiet peaceful road in the middle of the beautiful country that God has created; imagine that you are walking down the street of Nashville. It is Friday and you just go off work and decided to go on a walk around downtown. What do you see?
You are a Predators fan so, in your mind, the first thing that you see is Bridgestone Arena. You remember some of the games you have attended and how fun they were with the friends you were with. Then, you make a turn towards the river. The peaceful walk you were on has been overtaken with music, restaurants, bars, shops, and other types of venues.
What is this that you are actually passing? Yes, in your mind you are thinking they are just bars, clubs, and places that you can go and unwind but in reality, these are all distractions. They are places that are put into your life to distract you from your spiritual life. One step foot in the door and Satan knows that he can move one step closer to moving you further from Christ.
Satan doesn’t need you to fall away from Christ. He really just needs you to be unfruitful. He needs you to lose your self-control and take that one drink. That one drink has the potential to lead you to another drink. Then, you move on to the next bar. Before long that simple walk becomes a night of bar hopping. Although you have not fallen away from Christ, Satan is still winning because you have come unfruitful at that moment.
Often times we get tied up in the affairs of life. An affair does not have to be unfaithfulness between you and your spouse but it can be anything that gets in between you and your spiritual walk with Christ. Satan’s antics creep into your life and slowly takes over. Before long, you are tied up with worldly sins and it was all because of that one walk into a bar when you got off work. You have let the world stand in between you and your spiritual walk with Christ.
We are not alone when we face distractions. What do we need to do when we are faced with the distractions of the world?
2 Timothy 2, Paul is telling Timothy to ‘BE STRONG’. God is always there to give us the strength we need for all situations. Notice that Paul continues on his discussion with Timothy letting him know that we must go through life expecting to endure different hardships (v 3-4). As soldiers of Christ, we must be willing to give up the negative things in life that distract us for our walk with Christ. If we are not willing to give them up, we are not true soldiers of Christ.
The Lord will give us understanding in all things. We are not alone in the fight. We must hold to the Truth and remember and never forget that Jesus is the Savior of the world. Christ suffered like a criminal. God wants to be first in our lives and we must put him first to seek our reward.
The world is trying to distract us from what we are called by Christ to do (2 Tim. 2:14). We must resist all temptations. Avoid the affairs of the world and walk faithfully and fruitfully with Him. Focus on heaven and set your goals on things above.
God is Good…
30 Second Thoughts 