Have you ever had a time in which your mind seemed to be going in a hundred different directions all at once? Welcome to the brain of an ADD person all the time. As someone who deals with it, I constantly have to make sure I do a few things. I will come back to that, but in today’s text we are going to pick the story up on the rebuilding of the Temple that we started looking at yesterday. At the time of Ezra 5, work on the Temple had been stopped for a while. However, two prophets came in and encouraged the elders of Israel to restart the work. Not only did the elders restart the building, but the prophets joined in the work as well. Of course, there was another attempt to stop the work. However, this time it didn’t work. Instead of waiting on King Darius to issue a decree on the building project, the elders of Israel kept working while they waited. Ezra 5:5 says, “But the eye of their God was upon the elders of the Jews, so that they could not make them cease till a report could go to Darius. Then a written answer was returned concerning this matter.” An amazing thing that stands out to me in this verse is how that even the unbelievers saw God’s hand was on Israel. A lot of times we as Christians can see God’s hand in a situation, but you know it is God moving in a powerful way when even unbelievers take notice.
Once again, the leaders of Israel had to make sure they didn’t get distracted. What makes distraction so disastrous? It is how subtle the distraction can be. There are a lot of times in which the choice before us isn’t between right and wrong. Instead, it is a choice between good and best. It is possible to be doing a lot of good things, but be sacrificing the thing that would be best to be doing. This is the real danger. I see it in the lives of Christians and in the life of churches often. We often mistake busyness for kingdom fruitfulness. Satan has learned that he doesn’t have to divide Christians to keep them from striving to make disciples as we are commanded to. All he has to do is distract us. If Satan can get us to do a lot of good things, he knows that we will often neglect the best thing. If he can cause us to measure the wrong things for success, then he can keep us running around doing work that has very little if any kingdom impact. The number one way Satan does this is to get us to focus on what we do for God, instead of us focusing on us spending time with God. In their new book, Replicate, Robby Gallaty and Chris Swain remind us of a powerful truth. Gallaty writes, “Ministry is received from God, not achieved for God” (Replicate, p. 84). The danger of distraction is that we become hyper-focused on what we do rather than who we are in Christ. So, now let’s answer this question, how can I avoid falling into the trap of ADD ministry?
- Pray and read the Bible. There are no shortcuts to spiritual growth in your life or in the life of a church. The answer isn’t to do more, it is to spend more time with God. Nothin will re-align our heart, mind, and life like spending time with God. We always hear people say, “I just want to know what God’s will for my life is.” That is a worthy desire, something we should all desire. However, it isn’t a guessing game. He has written His will for your life, my life, and the life of the church in the Bible.
- Evaluate what you are doing. This goes along with point number 1. As you spend time with God in prayer and Bible reading, He will make His will abundantly clear. Then, we have to sit down and honestly evaluate what we are doing. Is what I am doing helping me to fulfill God’s call on my life? If it isn’t, then we need to get rid of it. What happens many times is we get comfortable in our routines. We like some sense of predictability. However, it can often lead us to do things that have no tangible value in helping us accomplish what God has called us to do. This is how a good thing can become an idol.
- Repeat, repeat, repeat. Steps 1 and 2 aren’t a one time thing. They are something that we must constantly be doing. Unless God has specifically changed what He is calling you to do, continue the last thing He said. If God does change what you are doing, then you must let the past go and grab firmly onto what God has for you.
There are always going to be distractions all around us. Technology isn’t making it any better. This is why we must be intentional about unplugging from the world, so that we can plug into the Word. Our greatest need is intimacy with God. As we focus on having an intimate relationship with God based on prayer and His Word; He will supply the wisdom, guidance, direction, and power for us to accomplish what He desires.
By His grace and for His glory,
Pastor Justin