The Distractions of This World

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Distractions. What are yours? Does work get under your skin? Do financial worries bother you? Relationships? Do the daily little problems of life irritate you and distract you from following hard after God? These flaming darts and arrows seem rather painful, but if you are wearing the right protection, a little dart of fire (or even an arrow) is nothing--they bounce right off of us. The truth is, if we put on the armor God provides, the things that give us grief--the little day-in, day-out problems and distractions that we encounter in this life--probably wouldn't grow into giants that plague us.  Ephesians 6:10-18 gives us the low-down on the armor of God:
10 Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. 11 Put on the full armor of God, so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes. 12 For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. 13 Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand. 14 Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, 15 and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. 16 In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. 17 Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. 18 And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the Lord’s people. (NIV)
So, this is what we know. First, it's not our power, but His! Second, the devil is scheming against us, and we can't necessarily see his schemes--just the result of them. Third, we are told to arm ourselves with what God has provided--His truth (the Word that we hold fast to), His righteousness (this protects our hearts), His message (the gospel of peace that our feet take to others), His shield of faith (to extinguish all the flaming arrows with), His salvation, and last but not least our offensive weaponry--His Spirit (his presence), and prayer (everywhere, at all times). 

 Just yesterday I read of a young man using an electronic device who walked off a cliff in San Diego and plunged 60 feet to his death. He was distracted from the danger around him. What started as a walk to see a beautiful sunset turned into something quite different. Likewise, the things of this world can easily distract us from our tasks, and the dangers are real. The armor is available and free--why wouldn't we choose to wear it?

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