Along with the temptation of not trusting in the provision of God comes the enemy’s tactic of distracting us and our affections. There’s no shortage of shiny things in this life to get our attention. Living in a consumer society, we are constantly bombarded with what we “need” to have. If you watch TV for about an hour, approximately 15 minutes will be dedicated to selling you on something.
So how can a person, keep their way pure? By keeping it according to your word (Ps.119:9). The Word tells us that we are to love the LORD God and our neighbors as ourselves. The World tells us to love all the stuff, stimulations, and our accomplishments. So the stuff in and of itself is not bad. The problem comes when our affections shift from God to that new car, job, or trip and leave our God as a fleeting thought. We must be intentional about our affections.
Personal Reflection
What things are you most at risk of being distracted with? If your affections are currently not on God, confess these things to Him and ask for forgiveness as well as power to overcome. Here’s a few ideas to help keep your affections rightly placed:
- Start everyday in God’s Word. How do we “keep it according to Your Word” if we don’t know it?
- Examine your life often for evidence of an affection shift. Words like “must have”, “need” are worthy of some investigation. Scenarios of opting out of social events so you can watch your favorite TV program may also be an indicator.
- Enlist a fellow brother/sister in Christ to help you examine yourself and spend time regularly in prayer together over your affections.
Prayer Focus:
Almighty Father, open our eyes to our affections. LORD, we confess our eyes have wandered and been distracted. Please forgive us of this and fix our eyes on Christ, the author and perfecter of our faith. Reveal your presence to us LORD draw our affections to you. You are our everything, our help, our refuge, our salvation. In you alone may we rejoice! We pray all of this in the precious name of Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen!