I have told you these things so that in Me you may have peace. You will have suffering in this world. Be courageous! I have conquered the world.   John 16:33

 

I’ve talked before about the devil and how he loves to use distraction techniques, but I have come to realize that God has a few distraction techniques of His own. If we will follow His command to put Him first in our lives, others second and ourselves last or as our pastor says, JOY, Jesus, Others, Yourself, God will distract us away from the distraction techniques used by the devil. Sound confusing? Allow me to explain.

Around Thanksgiving, I had some things going on in my life that caused me to be sorrowful, which is okay. But, then I allowed the devil to convince me to have a little pity party. I began to wallow in my own self pity. That’s not okay. Through our food pantry, I met a young lady who told me that she didn’t have enough money to buy toys for her children for Christmas. I referred her to our local Sheriff’s Office as they usually do something called, Operation Santa Bear. Unfortunately, she contacted them only to find that they weren’t doing that this year. I knew at this point, God was calling on our church and our food pantry to step up. And oh how people did. We received cash donations from church members and many others who don’t attend our church. We received volunteers that were glad to come and help us with what turned out to be a big operation. But thanks to all those volunteers, it ran very smoothly. God worked everything out for us so that we were not only able to provide lots of nice toys for all the children whose families come to our pantry, but we were able to provide turkeys and all the trimmings thanks to some help from Our Daily Bread. Our food pantry is a satellite operation through them. We were even able to stuff stockings for each child.

You see, I was going through some things and feeling a little sorry for myself. The devil wanted to distract me from doing God’s work. But God brought me a bigger distraction. He showed me that there were plenty of people who had it worse than I did. He showed me that with His help and the generosity of others that He would put in my path, together we could all help these people.

The devil wanted to distract me with all my problems and give me worries and sadness and heartache. He wanted me to not feel like celebrating Jesus which is the whole reason for Christmas, right? He wanted me to suffer and feel sorry for myself, but God had other plans.

My friend if you will stay close to God, the devil will try to distract you. John 10:10 tells us that the thief, meaning the devil, comes to steal, kill and destroy, but it also tells us that Jesus comes so that we may not only have life but have an abundant life. God wants good things for us (Romans 8:28, Jeremiah 29:11). The devil wants to distract us from this, but have no fear, God’s distraction techniques are bigger and brighter. They will bring you peace and joy in your life.

As we go through the holiday season, it is so easy to be distracted by the lights and the gifts and the meals and the parties. We can also be distracted by the trouble and sorrows in our lives. There is nothing wrong with any of these things as long as we keep Jesus first in our lives. He should be at the center of all we do. Don’t let the devil distract you and steal your joy this season. Focus on God and all of His goodness. Focus on that precious baby boy born to die so that he might save you and me. And when He sends a distraction, pay careful attention to it and do what He is calling you to do. He will handle all that is going on in your life. He’s got this. If you stay close to God no matter what you are going through, He will show you someone whose situation is much worse than yours. He will also show you the way to help them through Him.

Mourning is a natural part of life, but wallowing in self pity is a distraction from the devil. Pay careful attention to the distraction techniques God sends your way. Helping others helps us to realize that God’s in control and He can handle what we are going through. He calls us to handle the work He has for us to do. Allow Him to distract you today.

Romans 8:28 promises us that if we love the Lord and do the work He calls us to do, that He will work all things out for our good. So what are you waiting for? Get busy doing God’s work and watch Him work all things out for good in your life.

Have a great day!