The enemy may not be able to cause you to fall into temptation, so instead, he may distract you. He doesn’t need you to sin to get you off course. He simply may get you to focus on something other than Christ. It doesn’t have to be a sin, as long as the focus of your attention is anything but God. It can be watching excessive amounts of television, reading gossip blogs, or constantly scrolling through social media. These things are not sins, but they and anything else for that matter, can become distractions. How do we avoid these distractions? We keep our eyes focused on Christ. Hebrews 12:1-2 tells us:
“Let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith.” (Hebrews 12:1-2 ESV)
Keep looking to Jesus, and that’s the direction you will go. If you start looking to the right or left, you are sure to get off track from the path God has prepared for your life.
Ultimately, any temptation from the enemy seeks to convince and deceive us into thinking that the things of this world are better than God. We combat temptation by seeking God to fill our desires. When we are filled with God, we lose the desire to be filled by any lower thing. It’s God’s Spirit in us that helps us to overcome temptation. Today, I encourage you to set your eyes on Jesus.
Prayer: Dear Heavenly Father, when I’m distracted with temporary pleasures, redirect my attention and focus me back to being filled with the things of You. In Jesus’ name, amen.