Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, fixing our eyes on Jesus…
— Hebrews 12:1–2a (NIV)

There’s a conference room.

White. Stark. Blank walls. No windows.

A large rectangular table takes up most of the room. On the table sits a single black phone.

I’m sitting at the table engaged in conversation with the person on the phone.

I’m connected.

Energized.

At peace.

In my element.

The door opens.

Someone walks in.

I lose my train of thought. I’m annoyed, but I return to the conversation.

Then the door opens again.

And again.

And again.

Each time more people enter.

More noise fills the room.

The conference room becomes crowded and loud.

I’m no longer in a place of peace but of confusion and frustration as I try—and fail—to reconnect with the person on the phone.

That dream has stayed with me for more than a decade.

We live in a distracted world.

We can’t even scroll our phones without being interrupted by advertisements—a distraction inside the distraction.

Our attention is constantly being pulled in another direction.

Some distractions are obvious.

Others are much more subtle.

Not every distraction is bad or frivolous.

Work.

Family.

Responsibilities.

People we love.

Even good things can quietly compete for our attention until we discover we’ve lost connection with what matters most.

I recently heard someone say,

“If the devil can’t make you sin, he’ll make you busy.”

Whether or not you’ve heard that quote before, it raises an important question.

What deserves our attention?

What will last?

What builds our faith…

our families…

our communities…

our relationship with God?

Martha wasn’t distracted by something sinful.

She was distracted by something necessary.

Yet Jesus gently reminded her there was still a better choice.

And Jesus answered and said to her, “Martha, Martha, you are worried and troubled about many things. But one thing is needed, and Mary has chosen that good part, which will not be taken away from her.”
— Luke 10:41–42 (NKJV)

I like to think it was Jesus on the other end of the phone.

I knew I was talking to the most important person in my life.

Yet person after person entered the room.

The noise changed my mood.

It pulled at my attention.

Eventually…

I lost the connection.

Maybe that’s why we must protect our time with the Lord so fiercely.

Because rarely do we lose that connection all at once.

More often, we lose it one distraction at a time.