Becoming HIS Tapestry

Christian Lifestyle Blogger

WHEN LIFE IS A DISTRACTION

Hey friends, how are you today? It’s another fabulous day in my neck of the woods.  The sun is out in all its beauty, the birds compete with each other as they sing their songs to the Lord, the squirrels quibble over their personal space and Jazz (the cat) is upset because I won’t let have the entire space on the windowsill.  Yes, yes, it’s another fabulous day in my neighborhood. How are you today? What are your views outside your window?

I love early mornings when the world is quiet, it allows me to think, to put life into perspective.  The past few months have brought busyness back into our lives, time has once again picked up speed. I feel like the lethargy of the past two years has surrendered to the busyness of life, once again.   At the end of the day, they both (the lethargy and busyness) complete the job to which they have been tasked: distract! 

Even good things can cause us to take our eyes off the Lord, if we are not intentionally keeping our eyes on the Savior. When life does not live up to my expectations, trust in the Lord is rarely my instinctive reaction.  I try to get too busy to think, or I allow anxiety and depression to slow me down to a crawl.  There are days when I even allow the events that should bring God glory to distract me from what I need to do, which is surrender to the Lord by trusting Him.   I can obey without surrender, but I can’t surrender to the Lord without obedience.  I can’t surrender if I don’t trust the Lord, but I can’t trust the Lord, if I don’t know Him.  This Christian life demands intentionality because this war between my flesh and my spirit isn’t one to be won on instinct.  It needs a renewed mind that has to be constantly aware of the battle that we face daily in the choices that we must make.  

It is too easy as the year progresses to be caught living life unintentionally.  Too often, we find ourselves moving from one activity to the next; from one event to the next, trying to keep up with an impossible schedule of duties.  Too often, we are consumed with the world and its groaning.  And with everything that is going on in our world; at times it is easy to find ourselves groaning right along with the world.  Do you know the story of Job? If not, I challenge you to read it.  It is found in the Bible, between the books of Esther and Psalms. It may appear to be lengthy at first, and the discourse may be challenging, but persevere, you will not regret it.  Although, I do not want to give any spoilers, two really good points about this story, you will encounter as you read are 1. “Greater is He that is in me, than he that is in the world, and 2. We have an enemy whose sole purpose is to steer our hearts away from God.  A popular saying, found in the Christian world, is “you are going through something (trial); you are getting ready to go through something; or you are getting out of something”.

In other words, the Lord promises to take our burdens, He promises to be there with us, He promises to be faithful, and He also says, we will have trials.  They are inevitable. So, what are we to do when life does not live up to our expectations?  Trust Him!  Believe me, I know these two words are monumental. Did you know ‘trust’ is an action?  The idea here is to release the burden, to ‘let go’.  See how trust and surrender go together? It means acknowledging the trial, committing it and the end results to the Lord.  It means being prepared to accept the end results, even when it is not what we wanted.  It means ‘finding the silver lining’ when to our naked eyes, there seem yo be none.  Sometimes, that ‘silver lining’ is holding onto the Lord, tightly, with both hands.  

At times, it includes committing Psalm 27:13,14 to memory and repeating it every time we are tempted to be anxious. (Memorize it, you will not regret it).   At times, we may be required to do something, other times, (most of the time) we may just need to wait.   And that right there, is the hardest thing to do!  Wait! Wait, dear friends, you will not regret it. The Almighty, Loving, Gracious, Merciful and Faithful One has great plan for you, even though it may not seem like it. How are you today?

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29 responses to “WHEN LIFE IS A DISTRACTION”

  1. I’m currently studying Job! There’s so much more to unpack in that book than I originally thought, too. In reading Job, it finally occurred to me that God is Alpha and Omega, and as such, He is the perfect person to make and execute plans in our life. Definitely better than we ever could.

    I love how you stated, “I can obey without surrender but I can’t surrender to the Lord without obedience.” There is such conviction in it. A need to pause and ask, “Am I surrendering in my obedience or just obeying?”

    Thank you for this beautiful post❤️

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  2. Good timely post for me! Love what you said here Brenda:

    ‘I can obey without surrender, but I can’t surrender to the Lord without obedience. I can’t surrender if I don’t trust the Lord, but I can’t trust the Lord, if I don’t know Him.’

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  3. Intentional trust, intentional obedience, an intentional life – that has been on my mind and the end of my pen a lot lately. I have to choose to focus on His Word when the world and circumstances threaten to distract me. Great post, Brenda. Thank you!

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  6. It’s a very recent discovery for me…the realisation that good things can also be a distraction from God. Sometimes, the distractions are so subtle, we don’t notice them until it’s too late! Xx

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  7. Love how you explained surrender, obedience and trust. Even good things can be a distraction. And when life does not go according to our expectation we either get busy or let anxiety slow us down – that spoke to me.
    Thank you for this Brenda.

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  8. Thank you so much for this post. Distraction’s is something I have a hard time letting go. I will continue to pray and seek after God.

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  9. Oh, that surrender! Jesus surrendered completely, all the time, you know. and He always had perfect peace. (Isaiah 26.3, 4 Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on thee: because he trusteth in thee. Trust ye in the LORD for ever: for in the LORD JEHOVAH is everlasting strength:) Even, I think, in the garden, when He struggled. He knew obedience, and I think He had perfect peace in thinking beyond that. (Hebrews 12.2 …who for the JOY that was set before him endured the cross…)
    Can I do that? No. But I can surely strive that way, and depend more on my God.

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  10. All the busyness of life certainly can be a distraction. I find my early morning quiet time helps to reset my focus. And reading a few blog posts each day from my Christian sisters like you (and a few brothers!) helps too! P.S. Weather here: very hot, very muggy. Better weather on the way, coming Saturday!

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  11. The view outside my window? Sunny, too much; clouds are nicer to us. Hot, over 95 outside; I like it cooler, though “Inconvenient Facts” by George Wrightstone points out living things fare better in heat than in cold. And we may be on the cusp of moving away from the next ice age… so much for the terror of global warming. 😏
    As for “waiting on the LORD,” waiting, as you imply, is not the same thing as doing nothing. It is an active position of allowing the Holy Ghost to accomplish in and through us what we cannot do on our own!
    ❤️&🙏, c.a.

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  13. Love all those verses! You know what is awesome? When you look at yourself and see that God IS changing you and you are submitting to Him more quickly in times of trial! We can trust Him. Thanks for a great post. By the way, it’s HOT outside! 😀

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  14. AMEN and AMEN!!! Has God been telling you about me?? This spoke directly to ME and I’m encouraged! Thank you, thank you, thank you!

    TRUST: Release the burden to God, let go!! AMEN!!

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