Cast your burden upon the Lord and He will sustain you; He will never allow the righteous to be shaken.
~Psalm 55:22
Distraction. It’s all around us. Maybe you’re a news junkie getting caught up in the political vitriol, or you doomscroll your socials through the day to see what other people are up to (i.e., to judge yourself as “more than” or “less than”). Perhaps each morning you hesitantly get on the scale in order to determine if today will be “good” or “bad”. Our family members are sick. Friends suffer unfathomable loss. Gas and food prices keep going up. Wars rage on. Do you feel your heartrate elevate?
Even if, as a believer, your sole focus is on your church life and spiritual family (avoiding panicking talking heads), this realm does not escape the drama that is our broken world. After all, although our brothers and sisters in Christ are new creations and fully justified, they (we all) are not fully sanctified, but fighting the good fight against the fallen flesh. So, there’s illness, loss, and disagreements here too. We even watch some in the church use other believers for their own gain under the guise of being “on the mat” in want of others carrying them to Jesus…when, in reality, they’re simply seeking enablement of their sinful behaviors.
Yep. Everywhere we look—from the body of death we believers carry around (Romans 7:24) to the walking dead (that is, the unsaved) around us, to the bodies of dead Christians in Nigeria—we can easily get consumed by it all, overcome by anxiety, fear, anger.
“Good grief,” you’re probably thinking. “Why are you being such a Debbie Downer, Julianne?” Well, this is actually my point. Sweet friend, since Adam handed over dominion of this world to the enemy, Satan’s sole purpose is to crush us—mentally, emotionally, physically, spiritually. He aims to keep us from recognizing our need for reconciliation with God. Or, if we’ve already surrendered to Jesus, the Accuser will do his level best to keep us from walking with the Holy Spirit in holy obedience. He hates God, and he hates you…hence, the news, social media, brokenness, and self-condemnation.
But, praise God, Satan has been defeated by the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ! As believers, we walk with our Savior in victory through this dark world toward Home. The secret, beloved, is to wake up each day and remember this magnificent fact. When we look to Jesus, the Author and Perfector of our faith, we can stand in awe of Him—fixed on His beautiful face, allowing everything else to fade. In His glorious light, our fears wither (1 John 4:15-18). We can cast our cares on Him, because He cares for us and won’t let us be shaken (1 Peter 5:6-7; Psalm 55:22). We can hand over our righteous anger, because vengeance is His (Romans 12:19).
So, instead of looking down at the screen or around at the chaos, let’s look up to the Lord—a constant, moment-by-moment necessity. And as we set our eyes on Him, let’s open our grasp of all-things-heavy-laden and hand them over to Him (Matthew 11:28-29). He still has the whole world in His hands, and He’s got you. And me. We just need to trust Him with the mess and know, without a doubt, that He is working all things together for His glory and our good (Romans 8:28).
Oh Lord, it’s so easy to get caught up in the things of this world and be distracted from what really matters—Your glory, Your beauty, the awe of Your Providence. Help me turn my eyes to You and hand over what weighs me down on my race toward Home.
encouraged by grace 