Distractions - by Laura Duke

Distractions. They're so distracting, right? You're in the middle of something and then DISTRACTION! wait, where was I going with that?

Our lives are so busy and the world is so loud. My own head with its impulses and desire for immediate gratification is so demanding. It's really hard to focus. That's why this devotion email is late. Again.

In Jesus' day, the temple had been turned into a marketplace for buying and selling the required sacrifices (see Matthew 21:12-14). How distracting would that have been to the people trying to worship in the temple? Jesus was angry when he saw this so he overturned the tables. He knew that this buying and selling was distracting from true worship of God through prayer and love for others.

Jesus knew the power of distraction in separating people from God. He felt it himself. He often withdrew by himself to distant and remote places to pray.

I encourage you today to consider in what ways you are being distracted from your relationship with your Heavenly Father? Ask the Holy Spirit to guide you to ways in which you can combat that distraction. He may reveal to you which tables need to be overturned in your heart. He may lead you to a quiet place for a time of deep connection with Him.

Lord, please reveal to us the things that distract us from you, even if they seem to be 'good' endeavours at first. Teach us how to tune in to your voice above the chaos of life. Help us to identify 'the tables of distraction' in our hearts and to know how to replace them with true worship of you. Amen.