Avoiding Distractions

Lord, Deliver Me from
Distraction
Article by
Jon Bloom
Staff writer, desiringGod.org
Since the fall of man, people have had trouble staying focused, but we live today in an age of
unprecedented distraction. Since you’re already reading this on some electronic device, I
don’t need to elaborate.
Lots of experts are talking about the negative effects this is having on us. Many of us feel it:
the buzzing brain, the attention atrophy, the diminishing tolerance for reading, especially
reading books.
We’re becoming conditioned to distraction, and it’s harming our ability to listen and think
carefully, to be still, to pray, and to meditate. Which means it is a spiritual danger, an evil
from which we need God’s deliverance (Matthew 6:13).
The Causes of Distraction

Distraction, at least the dangerous kind I’m referring to, is shifting our attention from
something of greater importance to something of lesser importance.
Our fundamental and most dangerous problem in distraction is in being distracted from God
— our tendency to shift our attention orientation from the greatest Object in existence to
countless lesser ones. The Bible calls this idolatry.
“Our attention often runs to what’s important to us.

So distraction can reveal what we love.”
This fundamental attention shift disorders us in pervasive ways. We find our tendency to be
distracted from the more important to the less important cascading down, detrimentally
affecting our relationships and responsibilities. So, at the deepest level, we are distractible
because of our fallen, selfish nature; we have evil inside us.
But not all our distraction problems are due to our resident evil. Some are simply the result of
the futility infecting creation (Romans 8:20–23). This futility can infect our biology as well as
our environments. All of us have faulty brains and bodies, and so some of us battle distraction
more than others due to factors like ADHD and other mental or physical illnesses.
Environmental factors like poor nutrition, unhealthy family systems, and
cultural/technological forces (such as the constant stream of media) can also affect our ability
to focus.
All these factors mix together in most cases, making it nearly impossible to tell how much sin,
fallen biology, or environment is to blame for our distraction. But if we ask God, he will
deliver us from evil, whatever the cause, by using these powerful foes to our advantage,
helping us see what our hearts love, and pressing us by his grace into greater levels of humble
faith and self-control.
A Heart Revealer
When we are regularly distracted by something, we need to take note. Our attention often runs
to what’s important to us. So, distraction can reveal what we love. This happened to Jesus’s
friend Martha.
Martha was busy in the kitchen while Jesus taught in her home. When Martha complained that
her sister, Mary, wasn’t helping because she was sitting at Jesus’s feet, Jesus replied,
“Martha, Martha, you are anxious and troubled about many things, but one thing is necessary.
Mary has chosen the good portion, which will not be taken away from her.” ( Luke 10:41–42)
Martha was distracted from Jesus. By what? By serving her guests. Why? Because she was
anxious. Anxious about what? Anxious about feeding everyone, and in all likelihood anxious
about what everyone would think of her and her household if she didn’t do it well.
“God is not nearly as interested in our efficiency as

he is in our faith.”
But Martha didn’t recognize her distraction until Jesus helped her see her heart. She thought
she was doing the right thing by serving everyone. But Jesus pointed out to Martha that her
values were disordered. She had shifted her attention from the greater importance to the
lesser.
So, in our busyness, we must ask, what is the real distraction? What does our heart desire?
Are we choosing “the good portion,” seeking the great “one thing” ( Psalm 27:4), or something
less?
A Fight That Builds Humble Faith
Distraction is a frequent reminder of our frailty and limits, that we indeed are not God. And
since we are given to such unjustifiable, and frankly ridiculous, levels of pride, this is very
good for us. Distraction humbles us and forces us to ask God for the help we so desperately
need.
And it can build our faith. God is not nearly as interested in our efficiency as he is in our
faith. Do you remember how he let enemies harass Nehemiah and his Jerusalem wall-builders,
slowing down the work (Nehemiah 4)? Similarly, God lets us battle inefficient distraction to
build our dependent faith in him. That’s what God is building in all the inefficiencies of our
lives.
If we see the Spirit-given graces of humility and faith growing in us through our struggles
against distraction, we will count it among the “all things” we give thanks for ( Ephesians
5:20, KJV).
Building the Muscle of Self-Control

God also uses distraction to strengthen our self-control. Christian self-control is a fruit of the
Spirit (Galatians 5:22–23). And like nearly all the Spirit’s fruit of sanctification in us, they are
cultivated through the primary, decisive gift of the Spirit and our secondary but indispensable
intentional hard work.
“Muscles do not grow stronger without pushing

against resistance. Neither does self-control.”
It’s helpful to remember that we strengthen self-control similar to how we strengthen muscle:
through resistance. Muscles do not grow stronger without pushing against resistance. Neither
does self-control. There’s no getting around the hard work of applying ourselves and figuring
out what works best for us. But if we prayerfully and faithfully apply ourselves, the Spirit will
empower our efforts and we will see our capacity for self-control increase.
Now, just as with physical strength and ability, some are graced with greater ability to focus
than others. If you’re one of those people, then good stewardship of this gift looks different
than it does for less gifted people. Like a gifted athlete, you are made to excel. Seek to
maximize it, for “to whom much [is] given, of him much will be required” (Luke 12:48).
If you’re a person who, for whatever reason, has a more difficult struggle with distraction,
you need not feel condemned (Romans 8:1). For you, good stewardship looks like fighting
distraction as best you can. Push yourself. You may not be able to do what others can do, but
God will only hold you accountable for the measure of grace given to you ( Romans 12:6).
Whatever It Takes
It’s right for us to see certain distractions as evils in themselves. Everyone is a time-tax we
pay, a tax for which there is no refund. Time spent simply means we have less to spend. Every
distracted minute is an unrecoverable minute, now frozen in the permanent past. It is right to
seek to make the best use of our time in these evil days (Ephesians 5:16).
And yet, we also do not need to be more paralyzed by this than by any other struggle with sin
or futility. Our Father wants us to grow in the grace of faith-fueled focus, and will, through
Christ, cause our difficult struggles against distraction to work for our good ( Romans 8:28).
He will, through his Spirit, use them to free us from idolatry and pride and to help us grow in
self-control. So, in confident faith we can approach his throne of grace with this prayer:
Whatever it takes, Lord, increase my resolve to pursue only what you call me to do, and
deliver me from the fragmenting effect of fruitless distraction.
Avoiding Distraction
Jun 21, 2019 | Daily Devotions
I will meditate on your precepts and fix my eyes on your ways.
Psalm 119:15
Distraction is something that takes our mind away from the here and now. It
prevents us from giving our full attention to the things that matter most and diverts
it to things that don’t matter at all. And every minute we’re distracted is a minute
we will never get back, so it’s no wonder this is Satan’s favorite tactic to keep us
separated from Christ.
Satan knows the glorious future that’s in store for those who surrender their hearts
to God, and as a result, he will do anything to keep us from growing a deeper
relationship with our Lord. Which is why we must intentionally seek things that not
only please God but bring us closer to Him in the process—morning, noon, and
night.
Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is
pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence, if there is
anything worthy of praise, think about these things (Philippians 4:8).
Making this a priority and intentionally seeking His will for our lives through prayer,
study, and meditation should be our priority as believers.

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Lord, Deliver Me from

Staff writer, desiringGod.org

The Causes of Distraction

“Our attention often runs to what’s important to us.

“God is not nearly as interested in our efficiency as

Building the Muscle of Self-Control

“Muscles do not grow stronger without pushing

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