HOW TO DEFEAT DISTRACTIONS

“But Jesus said to him, “No one, having put his hand to the plow, and looking back, is fit for the kingdom of God” – Luke 9:62

Perfecting Purpose in destiny demands that we learn HOW TO DEFEAT DISTRACTIONS: “But Jesus said to him, “No one, having put his hand to the plow, and looking back, is fit for the kingdom of God” (Lk.9:62). Having put your hand to the Plow of Purpose, you must defeat distraction – the enemy of Purpose. Distraction is the shifting of attention from something of greater importance to something of lesser importance. The fundamental and most dangerous scenario is to be distracted from God – to shift attention and orientation from the greatest Person in existence to lesser attractions. The Bible calls this Idolatry. This fundamental attention shift causes serious disorders to life in pervasive ways. The tendency to be distracted often cascades down to detrimentally affect relationships and responsibilities.

Distraction is the antithesis of divine direction. You must fight and defeat distraction in prayer, in worship, and in your daily devotion to the Word. Whatever does not add value to your reason for being is a distraction. When other desires come to disturb and other options contest for your attention, you must subjugate them to your determined direction. Let them complement your primary purpose, rather than compete with it. Make purpose your over-riding priority. The woman with the issue of blood defied the distractions around her, pressed on in faith, and obtained a new beginning (Mt. 9:20-22; Lk. 5:27).

How can we overcome this killer of purpose? Here are three tried and tested strategies to defeat distractions and fast-track the pursuit of purpose.

Engage your Decision Power early: Avoid procrastination. Fear feeds on time, and you do not have the luxury of “marking time”! Time is fear’s favourite food. Cut off distractions early by not delaying the actions you know you need to take. Make firm, fast decisions. Vocalize your goals and commitments. Connect with visionary partners who can keep you accountable. Life will be challenging one way or the other: either because you’ve chosen to face the tough, right things; or because you’ve spent all your energy trying to escape and avoid troubles by leaving the decisions up to others.

Cultivate Divine Connection: nurture your relation with God and your interest in spiritual and eternal things. Jesus remained permanently focused: “For the joy set before Him He endured the cross” (Heb.12:2). He wasn’t caught up in the current pain; but was focused on the future glory. Jesus had a fundamentally different stance than the natural person does. When we are battling in an area of life, we usually hear the advice “just push through it.” But when we “push” we are relying on our own strength and means. Jesus did not push; He was pulled by the Power of Vision – the revelation of Purpose. The “joy set before Him” was so strong, so clear in His mind, that it pulled Him through the most adverse circumstances.

The vision of joy pulls us through challenges and roadblocks. This begins by getting into God’s Word. We don’t need to manufacture joy. God already has an ultimate eternal joy and a specific purpose-based joy crafted for us as individuals to experience on this Earth. Your responsibility is to cultivate this joy by reading, studying, and meditating on what He says and believing His truths. Before long, the distractions that used to pierce you will become like arrows bouncing off a metal shield.

Develop Proactive Habits: be proactive in responding to life’s challenges. Reactivity will never get you to where God wants us to be. Proactive habits begin with the end in mind. For example, you do not leave Bible study to chance: follow a reading plan, with discipline and diligence. To pray effectively, schedule a block in your calendar and treat it with priority like a business meeting. Proactivity does not wait for the opportunity to make a good decision – it creates an environment which makes the right choice easy. In the end, distraction is a choice. What will you do today to eliminate distractions in the pathway of fulfilling purpose and make headway in destiny?