Traps that Distract You

  

Disconnections

Why is it so difficult to focus our hearts wholly on serving the Lord? In my own life I see the tendency to drift away. I have times of difficulty like anyone else. In the lives of others I see the same tendency to drift. I also see people who used to claim to follow the Lord, yet now appear completely disconnected from Him.

Traps

At every turn distractions creep in and try to take control of us. They come in many forms. Common ones include sexual desire, financial temptation, and the desire for power, and even busyness.

Why do we fall into these? I think one of the most common reasons is because quick and pleasurable sensations are traps. Each of these three temptations produces its own quick and pleasurable sensation that easily traps us in a cycle of temptation, pleasure and regret.

When we fall into these temptations we end up on a completely different path than we started out on. We look up to see where we are and wonder how we ended up in the place we are in. This can be confusing and disheartening. We end up prioritizing the traps above everything else in life. We put the traps ahead of our God, our family, and our basic responsibilities.

Solutions

How do we escape these traps? Pleasure and regret seem to perpetuate themselves endlessly. In order to escape them we must believe God's word. The Lord tells us to repent. He tells us that sin leads to death. We must trust him when he says the trap kills us.

When we believe God's word we will grieve over our sin. We will grieve to the point of repentance. We will realize our rebellion and turn away from it back to the living God. God will heal us and restores us. This is godly grief.

So what about you? Have you found yourself drifting away from God? Have you found yourself distracted from the most important aspect of your life? f so, then you have likely been trapped. 

You must believe what God says about your sin! It distracts you, then traps you, then kills you. I pray that you would be grieved over your sin to the point of repentance. And may you experience the life giving grace of Jesus Christ!

2 Corinthians 7:9-10 As it it, I rejoice, not because you were grieved, but because you were grieved into repenting. For you felt a godly grief, so that you suffered no loss through us. For godly grief produces a repentance that leads to salvation without regret, whereas worldly grief produces death.