Refocus: No More Distractions
April 26, 2024
Sometimes I look back on a year or even just a season of my life within a year and I wonder where things dropped off. Entering the year I felt like I had such a clear vision/assignment for what was ahead, but what actually played out wasn’t what I felt God showed me as I entered the year. This cycle seemed to be a normal one for me from year to year. And I believe it is for many people. I believe that each year, each season, each calling, and each dream is meant to be lived out in a way that is better, higher, more, and exceeds all our expectations. After all, that is what God says in Ephesians 3:20 APMC, “Now to Him Who, by (in consequence of) the [action of His] power that is at work within us, is able to [carry out His purpose and] do superabundantly, far over and above all that we [dare] ask or think [infinitely beyond our highest prayers, desires, thoughts, hopes, or dreams]–”. I propose that we should be expecting this kind of outcome in all that we do. God meant for our lives to be enjoyed and lived out in abundance. We also see this spoken from God in John 10:10 AMPC, “The thief comes only in order to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have and enjoy life, and have it in abundance, (to the full, till it overflows).” When I get that assignment, the faith rises, and I expect that over the course of my year or in specific situations, if it doesn’t turn out that way, I begin to ask “why”. I think it’s important to do more asking and examining when things do not turn out the way the Word of God says they should. We need to be willing to learn and allow the Holy Spirit to teach us so we don’t make the same mistakes over and over again. Pressing in, maturing, developing and growing helps us to see where we missed it. Then next time things may turn out differently lining up with what the Word says. Too many times we can just chalk it up to, “God is sovereign, all things happen for a reason, I could never understand the ways of God.” And that mindset cuts us off short on the goodness we could be walking out in our lives with Christ. The expression of someone that does have Jesus in his or her life should look extremely different from someone who does not. And not only in how a person acts or speaks, (which is obviously a part of it), but I would propose it’s MORE than that. People who do not have Jesus should look at us and wonder how the heck our lives are consistently thriving, increasing, overcoming and conquering. These are qualities of Jesus and if we have Him then we should be exemplifying those same qualities.
Have you experienced a situation turn out differently than you expected as it related to what His Word said? Did a year turn out very mediocre in comparison to the Bible-backed vision God gave you for that year? Do you ever wonder why that is? I definitely do. That has been one of the biggest focuses in my heart as we entered this year. I have had past years where I received a Word from heaven and a clear assignment for that year and felt so sure about it at the beginning. BUT by the end of that year, there were victories and success, but it also definitely didn’t end up where the vision from God showed me. I did not want that same outcome this year. I was so tired of that cycle and being capped at that same level of mediocrity. Don’t get me wrong, God is so so good and I am so thankful for the amazing testimonies He did give me. Yet I also know that His intentions for me are so much more than what I have been experiencing. So I have been spending a lot of time asking God and listening to His answer on why this cycle has been so prevalent. This was the answer I received from the Spirit of God and His Word- I GOT DISTRACTED! Although each of us needs to listen to the Holy Spirit and receive His rhema word for our specific situation, I do believe many of us struggle with distraction.
What do I mean by “I got distracted?” I got my eye off of the prize and started living each day in a way that let life happen, instead of commanding the day. I kept certain disciplines that helped me to succeed to a degree in the assignment for the year, but only to a certain level. I didn’t just get off track completely, but I did not keep the standard high that would cause me to conquer completely or experience the over and above, (Ephesians 3:20.) It is easy to start out strong and have the discipline and will-power to do what you need to do. But over time, it’s easy to start slacking off. This occurs when we rely on our own ability or strength to stick it out. Just as well, I’ve found that when I’m distracted I tend to rely on my power. From Ephesians 3:20 we are focusing on His power in us - focusing on Jesus in us. This key is also found in Philippians 4:13 AMPC, “I have strength for all things in Christ Who empowers me [I am ready for anything and equal to anything through Him Who infuses inner strength into me; I am self-sufficient in Christ's sufficiency].” We are enabled to stick it out to the finish through Christ in us! Likewise that takes focus on Him. Distractions knock us out of focus and keep us from relying specifically on Jesus. With our eyes off of Him, often our flesh nature steps into the driver’s seat.
Just as it requires focus, with our eye on the target while shooting a gun, we need focus to hit the target of the assignment God has given us in our heart. Distractions can look different for everyone. We all have them: aimless scrolling on social media, watching hours of episodes on Netflix, secular music, etc. I am sure we can all agree that some of these are not all bad. But when they start to sneak into all our free time, they become distractions and lead to mediocre outcomes in your life.
For example, my husband and I begin each year with 21 days of prayer and fasting. During that time we not only fast food, but we also HIGHLY limit the amount of the world we are letting in, (i.e. social media, Netflix and secular music). This ALWAYS makes the results of our fast even better! It is similar to when you want to lose weight or get in shape. If you eat healthy, you will get results simply from your diet change. But then what will really give you the ultimate result is adding in an effective workout routine. It levels it up. During those 21 days we always feel the most clear, focused, and faith-filled we’ve ever felt. Everything seems so possible and surmountable. After ending the 21 day fast, we got the prompting from the Holy Spirit to keep the strict boundaries on those distractions that were taking our time and attention. We would stick to limiting the distractions for a time, but then slowly let it slip. Our days would look like a solid morning routine, listening to/reading the Word and having consistent prayer and listening. However, then we would spend our evenings and weekends completely full of aimless scrolling and binging Netflix. That was stealing so much time and also was clouding up our vision and knocking it out of focus. This might seem so small or unnecessary, but a lot of times it is the seemingly unimportant things that really matter.
My mom says it this way, “the more you do, the more you do,” and, “nothing changes, if nothing changes.” And of course we would think “well yeah duh” because that seems so obvious. We should endeavor to use our time in the most wise way possible. Ephesians 5:15-16 AMPC says it best, “Look carefully then how you walk! Live purposefully and worthily and accurately, not as the unwise and witless, but as wise (sensible, intelligent people), Making the very most of the time [buying up each opportunity], because the days are evil.” Accomplishing the full assignment requires more than the bare minimum of time and effort to accomplish it. We’re distracted from the assignment when we let ourselves spend precious time catering to the flesh. We could better use that time to fill our hearts with faith through the Word, taking MORE actions to accomplish, and keeping our hearts clean and clear and precise focusing on what we were to be doing.
Over time these small distractions knocked our focus off and caused us to weave in and out of the assigned path we were given to walk. We didn’t get way off base, but we got off just enough to be more so mediocre than superabundantly over and above successful! There were times we did see success, but also times where nothing seemed to be happening. That was because we weren’t focused, we were distracted.
As we began this year, I was so bent on figuring out where we were going wrong in the past. God really impressed this answer upon my heart. This answer may not seem super deep or big, but it does make a huge difference. I’ve walked it out both ways. When I am focused I see big results. When I am distracted I see some results, but not all the results to the full. I don’t want to discredit the victories, because there were most definitely some truly significant victories! However, I definitely know there were victories that fell through the cracks because I didn’t do the more challenging thing by remaining focused. I believe this will help many people accomplish the assignment for their specific season. Get with God and figure out what has been distracting you and taking up your time and attention. Really listen to this. Then make sure to focus and rely on His strength to empower you to continue the disciplines it takes to keep you focused. It is SO much more doable when you’re not relying on yourself to stay on track.
I pray this simple yet life changing answer helps you this year. I believe that God has an Ephesians 3:20 year for you! Not a year of sporadic victories, but a constant flow of living life to full, on top, and overflowing in blessing! Then those around us can have a very clear view of what a life looks like with Jesus. Let’s get focused together and see clearly what God can do with those who limit the distractions.
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