The Power of Distraction

A few weeks ago, a friend called and asked if Wesley and I'd be interested in writing a devotion together. She was putting together a Family Devotion book for our church. They were asking many different people from all walks of life to write. I was so touched and honored that she thought of us. I often feel so young compared to my peers, that it intimidates me to do certain things. (Especially when I found out they were making 700 copies to hand out!) Wesley and I both prayed that we'd be a vessel He could use and that we'd take ourselves out of the equation. I was amazed to watch and see how God brought us together in one mind over the subject matter of what to write.

I should have expected satan to rear his ugly head in our writing time. Every time we'd get a chance to finish writing, something would come up to stop our progress; a child would wake up early from their nap; an important phone call would come in, one thing after another. Soon, we found ourselves three days past the deadline. We were SO close to finishing, but it still wasn't complete.

I received a phone call on Thursday morning and I said I'd have it in by noon that day. It was mad chaos in my house and Wesley was at work. I called him in a panic. We went over together what we had left to write. I got off the phone and cried out to God to help me finish the devotion and to clear all distractions or to help me focus in the midst of them. I kid you not-within five minutes, Will was asleep for a nap, Randol was reading a book in her room and Fosters favorite show, Curious George came on TV-at a time it usually doesn't come on! I was done in less than 10 minutes. I called Wesley back and he was shocked at how quickly it took me. We went over it together and made a few changes and emailed the final copy in to the church.

I was so blessed through the whole process. We both have a passion for writing, but have never written a piece together. It made me wonder if God is starting something new for us. We got the devotion books yesterday and after glancing over a few others that were written, I saw that ours was totally different from anyone elses. I started to feel paranoid, and doubting myself. Fear started to creep his ugly head in and make me afraid we made fools of ourselves. As soon as doubt crept in, God spoke to my heart, reminding me of my prayer-to be vessels He could use. He reassured me, we did what He wanted us to do and I couldn't let satan make me doubt myself. I was reminded to re-read what we wrote and to stand up and fight back! I could not and would not let satan take my joy!

I wanted to share our piece. You may recognize a little of it from an earlier blog posting I did for September 11th. Little did I know back then, that God would use that post for His glory, months later!
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Our Excalibur

“Be self controlled and alert. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour.”

1 Peter 5:8

It was hot, and sweat dripped from His brow as he continued His wandering in the desert. No food for 40 days. His stomach cried out in hunger. Suddenly, He was given a very tempting idea by the devil; He could turn a rock into bread. He could calm the hunger pains that raged within His belly. How does He respond? By quoting scripture, “Man does not live on bread alone.” (Luke 4:4). Twice more the devil offered Him sweet and enticing temptations, only He resisted and made the evil one flee. How did He do it? He wielded the sword of the Spirit - God's Word.

Are we any different? We are at war-right now, and we're not talking about the Middle East. Our enemy is not like the ones our soldiers are fighting so bravely against. “For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.” (Ephesians 6:12).

The enemy has come into our homes, tempting our families. He is in the airwaves and coming through the television screen, infiltrating our minds. He tells us that we are not worthy enough-that God could never love a person like you. He makes us lust for what we cannot have, covet our neighbors belongings and makes us so downright busy that we don’t have time to put on our armor or gather our weapons. Satan helps our priorities get mixed up and before we know it-we are standing in an open battle field with nothing but the clothes on our backs to protect us. We become like sheep led to the wolves for the slaughter. The words we use, the actions we take, little by little become less and less what God would want for us.

The time is now. Draw your sword, face the battle and fight. “Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the Word of God.” (Ephesians 6:17). God has offered us the most powerful of all weapons - if only we would learn to use it. It is stronger than any man-made sword or gun. It can fight and defeat our worst fears, our doubts and our worries. We must be in the Word to know how to fight back, just as Jesus did in the desert. It is time to “Submit yourselves, then, to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you.” (James 4:7).

Don’t wait, don’t hesitate. The enemy is right there peeking over your shoulder as you read this. Are you armed and ready for battle?