Day to Day obligations can be many and they can be very distracting when they are given the chance to disturb our peace, interrupt our focus, or bring havoc in their disordered presence. It is easy to be absorbed in all the stuff that comes at us in rapid fire succession. It is harder to stay on track with the things we know God is asking us to do, but whenever we let the day-to-day stuff distract us, we might just miss what God is doing for us.
But make sure that you don’t get so absorbed and exhausted in taking care of all your day-by-day obligations that you lose track of the time and doze off, oblivious to God. The night is about over, dawn is about to break. Be up and awake to what God is doing! (Romans 13:11-12)
Preoccupation is another word for absorbed. It is easy to understand how our preoccupations can actually tire us. We can become consumed by the things that fascinate us and easily engage our attention. In short order, our energies have been put into the things that distracted us from the things that really matter. The danger in preoccupation is that we lose sight - in other words, we get 'out of focus'. The thing God is doing around us is totally missed. What a shame it is for us to be out of step with God. My friends, it is time for us to 'be up and awake to what God is doing', but do we even realize we are 'up', but not 'awake' to his actions? It is one thing to be awake - another to be aware.
Preoccupation doesn't affect us being awake as much as it affects us being aware. Awareness indicates there is a mindfulness and receptiveness in our actions. Mindfulness begins by putting aside thoughts that only serve to clutter up our thought life. You know which ones those are because they have the ability to rap you up in all manners of worries and cares way beyond your ability to carry them. This is why scripture reminds us to take every thought captive - mindfulness is cultivated - it doesn't happen by accident. Receptive minds and hearts are a result of getting in tune with what God is doing around us. Today carries many distractions, but we can choose to ignore them and pay closer attention to the things he is doing, telling us, and asking us to do. Engagement isn't possible when there is so much clutter that we find focus hard. If focus is hard today, perhaps it is time to declutter a bit. Just sayin!
But make sure that you don’t get so absorbed and exhausted in taking care of all your day-by-day obligations that you lose track of the time and doze off, oblivious to God. The night is about over, dawn is about to break. Be up and awake to what God is doing! (Romans 13:11-12)
Preoccupation is another word for absorbed. It is easy to understand how our preoccupations can actually tire us. We can become consumed by the things that fascinate us and easily engage our attention. In short order, our energies have been put into the things that distracted us from the things that really matter. The danger in preoccupation is that we lose sight - in other words, we get 'out of focus'. The thing God is doing around us is totally missed. What a shame it is for us to be out of step with God. My friends, it is time for us to 'be up and awake to what God is doing', but do we even realize we are 'up', but not 'awake' to his actions? It is one thing to be awake - another to be aware.
Preoccupation doesn't affect us being awake as much as it affects us being aware. Awareness indicates there is a mindfulness and receptiveness in our actions. Mindfulness begins by putting aside thoughts that only serve to clutter up our thought life. You know which ones those are because they have the ability to rap you up in all manners of worries and cares way beyond your ability to carry them. This is why scripture reminds us to take every thought captive - mindfulness is cultivated - it doesn't happen by accident. Receptive minds and hearts are a result of getting in tune with what God is doing around us. Today carries many distractions, but we can choose to ignore them and pay closer attention to the things he is doing, telling us, and asking us to do. Engagement isn't possible when there is so much clutter that we find focus hard. If focus is hard today, perhaps it is time to declutter a bit. Just sayin!
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