Are You Distracted?
It’s almost the middle of 2025, and I find myself in the same cycle that I’m always in. It’s the cycle of doom scrolling. I suddenly realize the hours that I spend on my phone are bad for me, deleting all of my social media in one fell swoop. At first, I genuinely feel that my life is better without it. However, I eventually get bored without the constant bursts of dopamine and convince myself that I’m cured, believing that this time will be different. I end up redownloading the apps, and the cycle continues. At its core, it’s the cycle of distraction.
Have you ever felt stuck in this same boat? Now, I know that my age group has a really bad reputation for being the social media generation (I’m 27), and it’s true that a lot of us live our lives online every single day. However, I would wager that this seemingly never-ending cycle of distracting ourselves casts its net much wider than my generation. From what I’ve seen, the constant need to disengage from the present spans the old and the young alike. Just take these verses in the Bible for example.
Do not love this world nor the things it offers you, for when you love the world, you do not have the love of the Father in you. For the world offers only a craving for physical pleasure, a craving for everything we see, and pride in our achievements and possessions. These are not from the Father, but are from this world. And this world is fading away, along with everything that people crave. But anyone who does what pleases God will live forever. – 1 John 2:15-17 NLT
If I’m reading this correctly, it sounds like even people in the Bible struggled with being distracted, meaning that the cycle of distraction is one that has seemingly spanned the ages. For me, the constant need to scroll my life away comes from “loving this world and the things that it offers me.” It even sometimes comes from “my pride in my achievements or my possessions.” Here’s a verse in Ephesians 5 that challenges me when I find myself being so caught up in thinking that these things are important.
“So be careful how you live. Don’t live like fools, but like those who are wise. Make the most of every opportunity in these evil days.” – Ephesians 5:15-16 NLT
When I’m scrolling endlessly through my phone and through social media, am I really living like the wise and making the most of every opportunity? No! I’m either watching other people live, or I’m wishing that people would see “how much I’m living.” I’m here to tell you that there’s another way!
Matthew 6 in the NLT version says, “Seek the Kingdom of God above all else, and live righteously, and he will give you everything you need. So don’t worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will bring its own worries. Today’s trouble is enough for today.”
My challenge today to you, and myself, is this. Put away your phone, and turn off your computer. Tuck that book away, and take out your headphones. Look away from the things that you are distracting yourself with and gaze into the beautiful eyes of the One who loves you. Seek first the kingdom of God! Don’t worry about tomorrow; He’s got it!
Live here in the present and make the most of the day that has been given to you. We don’t have to be stuck in the cycle of distraction. All we have to do is lock eyes with God, the author and finisher of our faith.
ACTIVATION/PRAYER: Turn off your phone for a few minutes, and step outside into the fresh air and away from as much distraction as you can. Ask the Holy Spirit to be with you in these next few moments. Then, when you’re ready, take some deep breaths. As you breathe in, send up thanksgiving to God; and as you breathe out, release all worries and needs for distraction to Him. Do this a few times, as many times as you’d like, and then pray a prayer like this:
“Lord, I thank You for this day that You have made. I pray that You would help me rejoice in it. God, I’m sorry for trying to distract myself from all that’s happening, the good and the bad, and I submit my worries, stressors, and time to You right now. I ask that You would help strengthen me against falling into old patterns of distraction, and I pray that You would give me wisdom to know how You would like me to live. I love You, Lord. In Your name, Amen.”
Have you ever felt stuck in this same boat? Now, I know that my age group has a really bad reputation for being the social media generation (I’m 27), and it’s true that a lot of us live our lives online every single day. However, I would wager that this seemingly never-ending cycle of distracting ourselves casts its net much wider than my generation. From what I’ve seen, the constant need to disengage from the present spans the old and the young alike. Just take these verses in the Bible for example.
Do not love this world nor the things it offers you, for when you love the world, you do not have the love of the Father in you. For the world offers only a craving for physical pleasure, a craving for everything we see, and pride in our achievements and possessions. These are not from the Father, but are from this world. And this world is fading away, along with everything that people crave. But anyone who does what pleases God will live forever. – 1 John 2:15-17 NLT
If I’m reading this correctly, it sounds like even people in the Bible struggled with being distracted, meaning that the cycle of distraction is one that has seemingly spanned the ages. For me, the constant need to scroll my life away comes from “loving this world and the things that it offers me.” It even sometimes comes from “my pride in my achievements or my possessions.” Here’s a verse in Ephesians 5 that challenges me when I find myself being so caught up in thinking that these things are important.
“So be careful how you live. Don’t live like fools, but like those who are wise. Make the most of every opportunity in these evil days.” – Ephesians 5:15-16 NLT
When I’m scrolling endlessly through my phone and through social media, am I really living like the wise and making the most of every opportunity? No! I’m either watching other people live, or I’m wishing that people would see “how much I’m living.” I’m here to tell you that there’s another way!
Matthew 6 in the NLT version says, “Seek the Kingdom of God above all else, and live righteously, and he will give you everything you need. So don’t worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will bring its own worries. Today’s trouble is enough for today.”
My challenge today to you, and myself, is this. Put away your phone, and turn off your computer. Tuck that book away, and take out your headphones. Look away from the things that you are distracting yourself with and gaze into the beautiful eyes of the One who loves you. Seek first the kingdom of God! Don’t worry about tomorrow; He’s got it!
Live here in the present and make the most of the day that has been given to you. We don’t have to be stuck in the cycle of distraction. All we have to do is lock eyes with God, the author and finisher of our faith.
ACTIVATION/PRAYER: Turn off your phone for a few minutes, and step outside into the fresh air and away from as much distraction as you can. Ask the Holy Spirit to be with you in these next few moments. Then, when you’re ready, take some deep breaths. As you breathe in, send up thanksgiving to God; and as you breathe out, release all worries and needs for distraction to Him. Do this a few times, as many times as you’d like, and then pray a prayer like this:
“Lord, I thank You for this day that You have made. I pray that You would help me rejoice in it. God, I’m sorry for trying to distract myself from all that’s happening, the good and the bad, and I submit my worries, stressors, and time to You right now. I ask that You would help strengthen me against falling into old patterns of distraction, and I pray that You would give me wisdom to know how You would like me to live. I love You, Lord. In Your name, Amen.”
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