Challenged to Grow

Now may the God of peace make you holy in every way, and may your whole spirit and soul and body be kept blameless until our Lord Jesus Christ comes again.
1 Thessalonians 5:23 NLT

I feel as if I’ve recently awakened from a long deep slumber. Where have I been? What have I been doing? Why didn’t I wake up sooner? How did I get here?

It’s amazing how quickly we can lose sight of what lies before us. It’s amazing how easily we can be distracted from the things that matter. It’s amazing how little we actually care that we’re heading in the wrong direction. It’s amazingly sad.

Distractions come in all sorts of shapes and sizes. I can sit in front of my television for a few hours at night, think nothing of it, and do nothing other than it, simply for the purpose of relaxing. I can play video games. I can run. I can exercise. I can work on my car. I can start a new project. I can do lots of stuff; however, what should I be doing? Where should my attention be directed?

When I allow my focus and attention to be directed towards anything other than the Kingdom of Christ I find myself either standing still or taking steps backwards. I lose something. I lose that drive. I lose that desire to grow. I lose that feeling of being challenged. I grow stagnant. I become complacent.

I wake up distracted.

I eat distracted.

I work distracted.

I parent distracted.

I love distracted.

Ever feel preoccupied? Ever feel as if there’s something else you’re supposed to be doing? When you’re distracted, when your mind is somewhere else, you cannot give 100%, you cannot be and are not at your best.

How do we break free from this? Give it up. Let it go. Prune away whatever it is that is yanking and tugging and pulling and dragging at you.

Paul prays for God to make you holy in every way, but this isn’t some microwaveable, minute life change. It’s an on-going, lifelong process. God desires to shape and mold you into a person that can change the world, but it requires our effort, obedience, and willingness.

What’s holding you back? What do you need to let go?

The choice is yours. You can remain where you’re at doing the same old same old, or you can grow and make a difference in this world.