Distractions, Distractions...

Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil walks about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour. Resist him, steadfast in the faith, knowing that the same sufferings are experienced by your brotherhood in the world. 1 Peter 5:8-9 NKJV Surely I'm not the only one who feels like they run in circles all the time? There's always something to do related to family, church, work, social circles, etc. Not that any of those things are necessarily bad, they just overwhelm us at times with the magnitude of what we need to accomplish in one short 24 hour period. I constantly have to remind myself that all good things are not necessarily GOD things. It is possible to take on more than needed & to spread oneself so thin that we become ineffective in all respects. It's not for lack of trying, it's just that we try to juggle so much that it becomes impossible to do. Stress walks into our lives followed by insomnia & we can't rest for thinking of all we need to do & we can't do all we need to do because we're completely fatigued from the busyness of it all, compounded by the stress & lack of sleep. It's a vicious cycle that Satan loves to get us caught up in. He's a sneaky old cuss--yes, he is! Truth is that once we surrender our lives to GOD, the devil has lost us. He doesn't like that, but it's done and as long as we remain focused on our relationship with the Lord, there's little he can do about it. However, he can inject things into our lives under the guise of "doing good" and distract us from what GOD has called us to do and be. It is up to us to make certain that we go to GOD with any new undertakings & determine--with His guidance & direction--if it is part of His Plan for us. Don't be fooled into thinking that just because it's charity, it can't be meant to derail us from the track GOD intends for us. I'm not saying we shouldn't try to go about doing good & serving others. What I'm saying is make sure what we do is of GOD. We need to be so in tune with GOD that the devil can't give us any trouble. The battle begins in our minds. Personally, I'm a very logic-minded person. If it makes logical sense, I can get on board with it. But, all the logic & reason in the world is completely invaluable if GOD isn't in what we're doing. Old Lucifer's plan is to give us trouble, cause us to stumble, an trip us up any way he can. We just have to trust GOD & let Him lead us, so we don't fall in to the devil's traps. Maybe it is time to pare down our list of activities & projects so we can reconnect with GOD & family. After all, those are the things that are most important. Just my thoughts.... Blessings to you all! Tony