If you want to be successful in your pursuit of discovering your purpose, then you must learn how to overcome distractions. In this episode, we’ll take a look at:
- The source distractions and why they come up
- We will explore three main types of distractions, and
- I’ll wrap up the episode by giving you some tips for overcoming distractions to your purpose
Check out more on how to overcome distractions below!
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What Are Distractions
A distraction is something that directs your attention away from something else. It’s a diversion.
So it’s important that we take a good look at distractions, because the more we are aware of distractions to purpose, the better we become at identifying them and defeating them.
With that said, it’s only right that we talk about the true source of our distractions. I say true source, because sometimes we have a tendency to look at the superficial and surface level source, which will only get us so far.
To defeat this and really learn how to overcome distractions, we must look at the root.
Where Distractions Come From
The root of distractions to your purpose is Satan. The Bible says the thief comes to steal, kill, and destroy. There is a version that says the thief comes only so that he can steal and kill and destroy.
One way that he steals from you is through distractions. I’ll use the parable of the sower to illustrate this point. Parables are stories that illustrate Biblical principles. Jesus’s parables would use stories and examples of things that people living during that time were familiar with.
Jesus used parables to teach his followers kingdom principles without non-Believers understanding what he said. Non-believers would hear him but they wouldn’t understand him.
One day, as a large crowd was gathering, and people were coming to Jesus from every town, he said the parable of the sower and it goes like this:
Parable of the Sower
“A sower went out to sow his seed. As he sowed, some seed fell along the path; it was trampled on, and the birds of the sky devoured it. Other seed fell on the rock; when it grew up, it withered away, since it lacked moisture. Other seed fell among thorns; the thorns grew up with it and choked it. Still other seed fell on good ground; when it grew up, it produced fruit: a hundred times what was sown.”
In this parable, the seed is the word of God. It’s worth mentioning a note from Dr. Tony Evans here. Since the seed represented the word of God, “the success of the seed, therefore, had nothing to do with the seed itself. If God’s word isn’t working in your life, then you should check the ground it landed on.
Types of Distractions
When discussing how to overcome distractions, it’s important to identify the types of distractions. Satan mainly uses three types of distractions. My pastor broke these down years ago. I’m going to share some of what he said mixed with some of my revelations about it.
The three main distractions Satan uses are 1) Distractions of the Mind, 2) Distractions of our Priorities, and 3) Distractions of Time. These are based on the distractions mentioned in the parable of the sower, which are worries of this age, the deceitfulness of wealth, and the desires for other things. I’m going to break these down individually, starting with distractions of the mind.
Distractions of the Mind
The first distraction I’ll cover are distractions of the mind. These deal with the worries of the world. These are our legitimate responsibilities. To care is to worry or be pulled in different directions with your mind. It’s when we are weighed down and overwhelmed by too many responsibilities and the anxieties and worries associated with these responsibilities.
Responsibilities can look like studying for a professional exam, serving as a caretaker for someone, working extra hours at your job to afford an important upcoming expense.
Satan works very hard to keep us in a state of being too BUSY for our purpose and one way that he keeps us busy is through the cares of this world. The things you care about are legitimate concerns! We just have to be able to see how our cares can be tools that Satan uses to distract us from spending time with God. Distracting us is a game he likes to play, so our job is to make sure we beat him at the game by carving out time for God , His purpose for us.
I recently posed a question on social media that asked, “how many of your dreams have you given up while you were caught up being busy?” Seriously, how many? Someone responded in my DMs and said, “too many.”
Priority Distractions
Priority distractions deal with our economic pursuits also known as the deceitfulness of wealth. I want to start by saying God wants His people to prosper. He just doesn’t want us to put our hope in something as uncertain as riches and wealth, but on Him, the one who richly and ceaselessly provides us with everything for our enjoyment. Philippians 4:19; 1 Timothy 6:17-18
Deceitfulness is the quality of being dishonest or misleading. It’s the act of causing someone to accept as true or valid what is false or invalid. Deceitfulness of riches manifests as a promise, a reward, increase, or a promotion that never materializes; or it’s an open door that God did not open.
In other words, every opportunity is not a blessing from God. Sometimes opportunities are there to keep you from your purpose. God isn’t going to give you a high-paying job that causes you to miss church every Sunday and not be able to see or spend time with your family, or focus on your purpose.
The root of our desire to pursue opportunities that take us away from our purpose and from spending time with God is our belief that it’s up to us to take care of ourselves. We don’t trust God to provide for us.
Time Distractions
Distractions that use your time is something that must be discussed in any conversation about how to overcome distractions. Time distractions deal with our pursuits of ideas and idols. An idol is something you have an extreme attachment or devotion to. Idolatry is the worship of someone or something other than God as though it were God.
When we think of idolatry our minds often jump to overt idolatry, which is the blatant reverence and worship of things as God. What I’m speaking of is a more subtle form of idolatry which happens when you attach confidence, loyalty, and devotion to a thing, instead of properly giving that confidence, loyalty, and devotion exclusively to God.
Some examples of idols are video games, TV, sports, children, social media, being in a romantic relationship, and church work.
If you are curious about whether something has become your idol, ask yourself these questions:
- Am I pursuing this thing because I believe it will satisfy me more than anything else?
- Will it cause me to disobey God?
- Does it give you greater joy than Christ?
- Is it what you spend the most time on?
If your answers to those questions are yes, then you should definitely seek God for guidance in this area.
Distractions that stem from the pursuit of ideas
A good way to think about this is to think about good ideas versus God ideas.
All good ideas are not God ideas. I learned this distinction from Dr. Myles Munroe and I’ll share it with you too.
Good ideas come and go. You’ll have a good idea one minute and it sounds great to act on, but a couple days later or even a couple hours later the idea is gone. On the other hand, God ideas persist. They will not leave you alone until you act on them.
Good ideas are usually adapted from another source, but you can’t adapt a God idea. It’s yours, no one can give it to you. My signature course, Positioned for Purpose Academy is a God idea. It came straight from Him. I have never seen any course like it.
Good ideas are usually about you and personal gain. God ideas are related to your future and your purpose. Your purpose is about the work you are called to do in the Kingdom of God and the impact you are called to make.
A good idea is contrary to the word and will of God in some form or another. A God idea is always in agreement with the Word of God.
How to Overcome Distractions
Now that we have identified the three main distractions, I want to leave you with some tips to help you defeat them. Here are my tips on how to overcome distractions:
- Recognize and identify the spirit behind those distractions. Know that Satan is strategic and launches well orchestrated plans to keep you from your purpose. Satan wants to keep you from doing anything related to God’s will, and distractions are the name of his game. Knowing this is half the battle.
- Play good offense. You know Satan is the king of distraction and you know the name of his game is to keep you from God’s word and to keep you from your purpose. Since you know this, you should be extra focused on spending time in the word and spending time on your purpose. And the minute something comes up that tries to distract you from those things, evaluate it, handle it, and have a plan to get back to the word and to your purpose.
- Ask God for help. Specifically, ask Him for grace and guidance as you make you navigate around the distractions.
Well, we’ve made it to the end of this episode on how to overcome distractions to your purpose. In this episode we covered:
- The source distractions and why they come up
- We will explore three main types of distractions, and
- I’ll wrap up the episode by giving you some tips for overcoming distractions to your purpose
If you are curious at all about finding your purpose, then I want to invite you to take my FREE quiz titled How to Find Your Unique Path to Your Purpose. You can find it at pavielle.com/purpose-quiz
Want More?
If you enjoyed this episode, then you may also enjoy the episode of the show about overcoming fear in order to purpose or this episode detailing how to find your unique path to your purpose.
Resources Mentioned
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