Argh! Some days you just can’t stop thinking about it. It’s the first thought when you wake up and the last thought before you fall asleep. Some problems, issues, or distractions just can’t go away no matter how much effort we’ve exerted into resolving them. As a matter of fact, sometimes we get so caught up in trying to resolve these “issues” that it becomes all that we talk and think about. Seems that a temporary fix to our materialistic possessions, status, appearance, or skills might make things more convenient and comfortable to help attain my primary goals. In other words, those issues become our priority; which I’ve learned it’s a costly thing to place distractions as the focal goal. It’s impossible to eliminate them all anyways.
My good friend, Johny Paragone, expressed a remarkable incident to me the other day about his trip to Great Britain. The purpose of his trip was to meet a delegate of another business company he was planning to acquire. After his arrival, Paragone was settled in the last available hotel room. Before he could even settle in, he was already working on polishing the outlines for the big meeting which was to take place first thing in the morning. However, the more diligently he worked, the more something caught his ear. It was a squeaky, annoying, constant humming that would come and go, come and go every few minutes or so. As soon as he would refocus on the task at hand, the humming sound would interrupt once again… until his patience ran out; he couldn’t bear the constant interruptions any longer. Impatiently, he spoke to everybody in position to fix the distracting humming sound only to learn the professionals were off duty and no one else knew how to fix the issue. Paragone found himself choosing between two options. Oh, how we wanted to go and fix that nuisance himself; after all, he knew a couple things himself. On the other hand, the purpose of his trip wasn’t to fix the sound, but to attend an imperative meeting for potential business expansion.
Often, we too, like Paragone, are faced with the option to settle a small annoying issue – which the more we think about, the more of a temptation it becomes to address it. Or the option to ignore it and let it pass by without seriously affecting our sanity. After all, you and I are on earth to fulfill a greater calling, a greater purpose. Jesus honored God by fulfilling his purpose on earth. We honor God the same way. We cannot afford to get distracted by the issues. They aren’t the main priority. Instead, they deem themselves to be distractions. Distractions from the greater purpose God has made and set you to achieve. My urge to you is – don’t place the issues above your calling, above what you can do, above what God has placed in your heart to accomplish. Focus on the main point – which is the kingdom of God – as for everything else, trust God to deal with it. Either way, He is the only one in control of everything.
