PROVERBS 4:25-27 – “Let your eyes look directly forward, and your gaze be straight before you. Ponder the path of your feet; then all your ways will be sure. Do not swerve to the right or to the left; turn your foot away from evil.”

THEME OF THE DAY: SPIRITUAL WARFARE.  How would we define today’s nugget theme?  Bible believing Christians would offer many sound Biblical answers. Things like doubt, fear, anxiety, and unbelief might make the list of the emotional arenas we fight in spiritual warfare.  Then we have the flesh and its associated lust as well as the fiery darts of ungodliness seeking to defile our minds. We may have other areas like relational challenges, but spiritual warfare might be summarized like this – anything or anyone, internally or externally, that takes our minds, hearts, and wills off Jesus.

All spiritual conflicts aim at getting us away from the command found in the opening chapter of Hebrews 12 – “Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God” (Hebrews 12:1-2). The command? Looking or gazing upon Jesus.

The single area in our lives that is used by the world, devil, and our flesh to keep us from a steady faith gaze upon Jesus is distraction.  Pause for a moment and think about all the distractions that come our way in the course of a day.  Many, huh?  Now think about the intense warfare we have against distractions when we are dealing in the spiritual realm; in church attempting to worship, alone trying to read our Bibles, or seeking the Lord in prayer.  Distraction abounds and it takes great effort to defeat this spiritual tactic in our lives.

So how may we consistently win over the endless distractions seeking to get our eyes off the Lord Jesus?  Let me offer two applications.  They both fall under the category of spiritual self-discipline to say “no” and keep saying “no” to distractions, but this discipline cannot be achieved in the strength of self.

First, pray. Pray earnestly for the Spirit of God to enable us to say “no” to any and all distractions.  It might be a prayer like this, “Father, I am weak and easily distracted from keeping myself looking to Your Son.  I desire to do so. Please empower me by Your Spirit to have my thoughts on Him and see distractions for what they are – ploys of the evil one to get me to focus on the world and my flesh, not Him.”  Then believe God will answer this prayer, and that leads to the second application. It comes from today’s scripture.

Next, we refuse with great effort to allow even the slightest distraction to get a foothold on our thinking.  This doesn’t mean we can totally ignore distractions, but what it means is we see them for what they are, and deal with them through the truth of Christ in us.  Jesus had plenty of distractions in His earthly walk. So did the Apostle Paul.  Yet they both kept a laser guided focus on God’s will and His Person.  This is what today’s scripture exhorts us to do; to keep the main thing ever before us; to keep looking to the right place, or right Person and do so with great resolve; the resolve empowered by the Spirit.   To help us, it would be good to memorize today’s scripture and pray it often.

By way of reminder, spiritual warfare is anything or anyone getting our attention off Jesus, and that largely by distractions.  Be on guard against them and through prayer, empowerment by the Spirit toward self-resolve, we may defeat these attacks on a regular basis.

PRAYER: Father, help me to keep my eyes on Your Son, through Your Word, by Your Spirit.

REFLECTION:  Avoiding distractions is one of the chief areas of spiritual warfare in the life of the Christian.