Avoid Distractions

 “No one engaged in warfare entangles himself with the affairs of [this] life, that he may please him who enlisted him as a soldier” (2 Timothy 2:4 NKJV).

This passage may apply best to the man in the pulpit, but all may gain a valuable lesson from it. There’s an old saying, absence makes the heart grow fonder. However, when it comes to your spiritual life it isn’t true. Absence makes the heart grow colder, harder, and more distant. Our love for God grows as we fan the spiritual fires with Bible study, deep mediation, and prayer. Avoid your time with God and soon you will feel more like a casualty than a soldier.

The key is to understand that the Christian life is warfare. It is hard to live a holy life amidst a crooked and perverse generation. Not that we have it any worse than the Christians in the first century. Oh, the delivery system for vile passions may be more “High-Tech” now, but I haven’t seen anyone eaten by a lion or hung up to die by the roadside lately. Still, the devil has his tools for each generation, and we are under attack just like every generation before us.

The solution is to follow Paul’s admonition to Timothy. Do not entangle yourself with the affairs of the world, avoid distractions. I know someone will take exception, but I believe this battle is fought in the morning before the world makes its first foray. If our Lord is any example, He taught by His own conduct that early solitude with meditation and prayer was the way to start a day of battle. As it is written, “Now in the morning, having risen a long while before daylight, He went out and departed to a solitary place; and there He prayed” (Mark 1:35 NKJV). What is undeniable, even if you disagree with the need to have morning devotions, is the need to have a daily time of solitude where you might read, meditate, and pray. Without this infusion of spiritual food, the soul simply runs out of ammunition with which to fight.

Whether you find time in the morning or evening, find the time to prepare for battle. Don’t put yourself in harm's way without your spiritual armor. We want to please Him who enlisted us as soldiers. Don’t we?

Father, help us in our efforts to meditate and pray. Take our feeble efforts and magnify the results that you might be glorified by the lives of your children. Lord, we need your grace every day to stand against the schemes of the devil. May Your will be done today, amen.