“Immediately Jesus made the disciples get into the boat and go on ahead of him to the other side, while he dismissed the crowd. After he had dismissed them, he went up on a mountainside by himself to pray. Later that night, he was there alone, and the boat was already a considerable distance from land, buffeted by the waves because the wind was against it. Shortly before dawn Jesus went out to them, walking on the lake. When the disciples saw him walking on the lake, they were terrified. “It’s a ghost,” they said, and cried out in fear. But Jesus immediately said to them: “Take courage! It is I. Don’t be afraid.” “Lord, if it’s you,” Peter replied, “tell me to come to you on the water.” “Come,” he said. Then Peter got down out of the boat, walked on the water, and came toward Jesus. But when he saw the wind, he was afraid and, beginning to sink, cried out, “Lord, save me!” Immediately Jesus reached out his hand and caught him. “You of little faith,” he said, “why did you doubt?” (Matthew 14:22-31 NIV)
Watching the morning sports show while dressing, I got distracted and put on two shoes that did not match. Went all he way to work and played it off by saying in jest, “It’s a new trend; a new fad.” Don’t worry. Nobody took me seriously. I’m not the only one who has had things not workout right because of distractions. Somebody thought they has a blue dress on, and it was actually black, not perfect as the well thought out, picked the night before, preplanned ensemble. Someone else, as they were preparing a turkey, stopped to answer the phone, and forgot to take the giblets and parts stuffed in the bird out before popping it in the over. Someone, not you of course, had a lust-free admiration thought for someone of the opposite gender, and you forgot what you were supposed to be doing. Distractions! The law in many states prohibits talking on hand-held devices because of the danger of distractions. Let me get back to being transparent. I have left clothes in the washer for an entire day after turning on the washing machine early in the morning, all because I got distracted. And I am probably the only person in the world who boiled a hot dog, got distracted reading a newspaper until falling asleep, and woke up in just time to keep the house from burning down. The poor hot dog was black, the water was evaporated, a tint of black smoke filled the kitchen, and the pot was so black I had to throw it away. Distractions! Distractions cause problems.
If you don’t believe me, ask Adam and Eve. Ask Abraham. Ask ten of the twelve spies that checked out the Promised Land and came back with a bad report? Ask King David. Ask Samson. Ask Judas. Ask Demas. Go ahead, search your Bible and you will see a lot of people who got distracted. Ask the Jews who did not want to return from Babylon captivity. Ask Lot’s wife who turned back after God had told her not to look back. Of course, look at Peter in the text above. Distractions! Distractions cause problems.
As it relates to our spiritual life, distractions will come, but unlike Peter who took his eyes off Jesus, we can keep looking to the Lord to avoid problems today or on any other day. In your everyday life, avoid the distractions. They cause problems. On your spiritual journey, stay alert, stay attentive, stop agreeing with your senses being that speak to you to get you distracted; distracted by your surroundings, distracted by your storms, and distracted by stubborn-filled situations and keep your eyes on Jesus. Apply this meditation this Thursday morning. Pass it on to someone else too! Be blessed!
“Do you see what this means—all these pioneers who blazed the way, all these veterans cheering us on? It means we’d better get on with it. Strip down, start running—and never quit! No extra spiritual fat, no parasitic sins. Keep your eyes on Jesus, who both began and finished this race we’re in. Study how he did it. Because he never lost sight of where he was headed—that exhilarating finish in and with God—he could put up with anything along the way: Cross, shame, whatever. And now he’s there, in the place of honor, right alongside God. When you find yourselves flagging in your faith, go over that story again, item by item, that long litany of hostility he plowed through. That will shoot adrenaline into your souls!” (Hebrews 12:1-3 The Message Bible)
Still committed to the climb,
Mark L. King