There are many things in life that can easily distract us from keeping our focus on the Lord. Hebrews 12:1-2 (NLT) says, “…let us strip off every weight that slows us down, especially the sin that so easily trips us up. And let us run with endurance the race God has set before us. We do this by keeping our eyes on Jesus…”
The Lord wants us to live a fruitful and abundant Christian life. However, we can only attain it by living in close a relationship with Him. If we allow distractions to disrupt that then we open the potential for the enemy to interfere, and we could wake up one day wondering what went wrong. Distractions that take our eyes off Jesus can come in many ways. Most often they come disguised as something seemingly unavoidable or even perhaps beneficial. Things like an overly busy work schedule, certain relationships that don’t nurture godliness, or maybe it’s simply too much input from the world’s resources that drown out God’s Word and His voice. Maybe it’s just too much time spent on earthly leisure or activities.
Notice these verses in Hebrews speak about stripping away every weight. Weights are generally things that unnecessarily wear us down, keep us distracted, and also eat up our time, but in the end they have no real eternal value. A good place to begin determining which things are weights in our lives is by asking the question, “If Jesus were to return tomorrow, which things in my life would suddenly lose importance?” Even good things can become weights when they distract us from wholeheartedly focusing on Jesus. Sins, on the other hand, are obviously the lifestyles and behaviors that are patterned after the world and go against the Bible. In this passage of Scripture, we find that if we don’t keep our eyes on Jesus, sin can easily trip us up.
Both weights and sins are the culprits of why many believers never fully enjoy all that God wants for them. The best way to overcome both is by making a choice each day to keep your eyes on Jesus. It begins by redirecting time and attention away from the things that have been a distraction. Secondly, spend time some time each day doing things that promote focusing on Jesus such as prayer, Bible reading, church involvement, and the like. Lastly, when making important choices, always ask the Lord what would please Him most. By making these simple lifelong habits, your focus will stay upon Him and you will be able to live life abundantly and finish your Christian race with great reward!