I Can’t Help It…It’s Soooo Beautiful!
“And these are the ones by the wayside where the word is sown. When they hear, Satan come immediately and takes away the word that was sown in their heart. Mark 4:15 NKJV
In the past, one of the many loving terms of endearment my husband has given me is, “Bright-shiny-thing.” I became infamous among our family for being distracted by any bright and shiny thing that came along. Quite frankly, I still struggle with this affliction. I have the attention span of a gnat. I can relate completely with that mosquito from ,the movie, “A Bugs Life”. You know the scene, when he’s drawn to the bug zapper? While his friends frantically yell out their warnings to him, “No, Harry, No, don’t look at the light!” Hypnotized, he’s unable to pull away. “I can’t help it… it’s so beautiful...”
Weakness to distraction…his fatal mistake.
I admit it, just like the mosquito, I suffer from the chronic spiritual disease I like to call, the attraction of distraction. Sadly, this weakness of the flesh, affects my Spiritual life in big ways too. No matter how heartfelt my desire to be in the Word, before my feet even hit the ground, I can be distracted almost immediately. I would love to say that these distractions are of dire importance, that my attention to these matters hold life and death in the balance. Ahem, well, not exactly. A phone call, a song on the radio, an email from a friend, thoughts about what to make for dinner or “Should I keep my hair short or long this summer?”, are sometimes all it takes to pull me away from my time with the Lord. These distractions work their way in, always taking from me the chance to know Him a little bit better and to be prepared for whatever He has for my day.
The scripture above, “And these are the ones by the wayside where the word is sown. They that hear, Satan comes immediately and takes away the word that was sown in their hearts.” Mark 4:15 NKJV, is from the parable of the sower. This verse almost screamed out to me from the pages of my Bible today. “… Satan comes immediately and takes away…” were the words that my eyes kept going back to. I dug a little bit deeper and found out that the words “takes away” come from the Greek word ???? (air?) which means to take away what is attached, or my favorite, to take away from another what is his, or what is committed to him.
Satan doesn’t waste one second. Distraction is not an affliction he suffers from. His goal is to distract us. He has his missiles locked and loaded. The moment He knows that our ears are ready to hear God’s Word, the very second the Lord’s promises for us begin to take root, the enemy uses his nuclear warfare we call distractions to take away what is attached to our heart. He tears away the promises that are ours and takes away the promises that He has committed to each one of us. What we think are just the mundane day to day things that come up, Satan uses to advance his position. His joyous mission… to keep us from growing and maturing into the godly women we are called to be.
I now keep a Bible right beside my bed. The Lord sits next to me as I search His Word, while the enemy hides in the shadows waiting to pounce like a roaring lion for the kill. He is looking for opportunities to take away what is taking root in my heart. The enemy may threaten me by attempting to take away, but I belong to the one who gives and gives abundantly. All I need to do is ask.
For now, I will be asking Him to make my walk steadfast and unwavering. His Word will strengthen my perseverance to overcome any bright lights sent to distract and will be my holy bug spray, aimed and ready to zap any mosquitoes I see along the way.
Bless you dear one.
Beautiful post. I resonate with this post as well. In fact this morning as I was spending my quiet time with Him, I thought about my zit on my right forehead, then the fact that my husband took my cellphone and my drivers license to work without knowing it, and what time I was supposed to pick my children up from church. But, what the enemy meant for bad, the Lord will turn into something good and wonderful. I’ve learned to put Bible verses on 3×5 cards in a ring and carry them in my purse. These are my power verses-promises of God to His children. They keep me from big falls. Praise the Lord.
God bless you, Joanne. Each of us has our own weakness, but it is our weakness that has magnified His character and strength, pointing the way to Jesus Christ.
So true! Thank you for the insight on satan’s ways. It’s so powerful to be armed with the truth so that we can stand firm and resist him. God’s power and grace is where we all can hold on to find rest.
How quickly we find our distraction…even blogging (I hear you friend!). I’ve now purposed to have my time with him before I even turn on the computer each day. It’s a hard balance, this life in the flesh the encompasses a heart of faith. As we move forward into our “becoming” we see less of a separation, or at least we should. Life with Jesus moves from “timed segments” to life segments. The more we know him, the more he fills our lives to overflow so that the line which divides the two, seams into perfect unison.
Don’t be too hard on yourself. Just do it. Keep to Jesus. He certainly keeps to us.
peace~elaine
Oh Joanne,
but I belong to the one who gives and gives abundantly….
Amen. Girl… Amen.
I needed this post today. Thank you.
Joanne, this is such a beautiful post. I can so relate as I too sometimes get easily distracted. I’m so grateful that our heavenly father never gets tired tugging our attention gently back to him.
Oh Joanne…have you been reading my mail or what! I have found myself tooooo often in the pit of distraction. But I always have a GOOD excuse! It was the kids….or the grandkids….or working on a project….or the phone…or….yeah…that\’s me too. This really pulled my eyes back into focus. WHAT He was trying to get me to SEE this morning….YOU my dear friend….have spoken to MY heart. LOUD and CLEAR.
I love you for listening to HIM.
Oh yeah, I so identify with this.
Thanks for your insights & God bless you!
Oh, Joanne – you so have spoken from my heart. Yes, indeed the devil likes to distract us every way he can. He loves to take away the things that are really, really important in life…a relationship with our Heavenly Father.
Thank you so much for sharing from your heart…