Have you noticed that people in our society are constantly in pursuit of distraction? They're seeking the next best movie, the brand new device, the dream home renovation, that exotic getaway and so on! I see it in my friends, my family, the ads, the Facebook posts and I sense in my heart there's a lure towards distraction too. Perhaps this great pursuit of distraction is driven by our distaste for mundanity. Deep down inside we want something more than the daily grind: to be part of a great story, an adventure, a battle, a romance, a victory of good over evil. Since I've become a Christian I've noticed that the sweetness of distraction that I used to crave has lost its taste. Why? I think it is because I have found a greater story that's not imaginary anymore. As a Christian, I am each day living in a true adventure and a true battle. Paul says in Ephesians 6, "Put on the full armour of God, so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes. 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." I've entered this wartime mentality, I'm training each day to stand firm in the faith, I'm searching out each week the strongholds of the enemy within my heart and dismantling them, I'm finding each year greater triumph of good over evil as God sanctifies me. The distractions have lost their taste because they're not half as exciting as the real battle. And ironically the mundanities of life have acquired a newfound sweetness: partly from a sort of nostalgia as you notice the simple joys of life in the midst of spiritual battle, but more importantly the simple joys of life foreshadow a time when the war will finally be over and with Christ our king we will enter the kingdom of heaven, our eternal rest and eternal inheritance. Will you pray with me this week that God will help each of us to pursue our desire for a greater story not in distractions but in the true spiritual war, to set our joy and hope not in temporary excitements but in that final victory and final rest that comes when Christ defeats Satan once and for all.
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