HERE'S TWITCHIN' AT YOU - GRRR!

OK, I had a really hard time getting to church this week.

The alarm went off – (about ½ an hour before I had to get up – not a morning person!) – and I started to wrestle with myself.

Inner dialogue:

"The Hub" isn't going this week, so it's all right if I stay home, too."

"I went to Bible Study on Tuesday."

"I have to drive down to see my mom tomorrow, and I don't want to start out tired."

"I have a headache, more sleep would help."

"God will understand."


Maybe it was that last argument that convinced me to get up and get dressed and get going.

Once there, I decided to do something different this week.

I sat in the second row with a friend of mine from Bible Study!

She said she liked to sit up there because it kept her from being distracted by other people and other things happening around her.  Sounded like a good reason to me.

So yes, I broke out of my little mold, and ventured to the front of the sanctuary!  

Settled in, I was READY for church.


We begin our service with announcements, and then we have a time of singing.

OK, so now I discover some of the reasons why I do not sit in the front. For one thing, the music is really loud.  Which was distracting.  And then, I started to *inspect* the worship team.

New inner dialogue:

"I really like his boots.  Black, clunky.  I wish they made something like that for women."

"Wonder whose kid that is on guitar?"

"How loud are the drums behind that plexiglass?"

"I think I can see through her skirt.  Wait, no, just a trick of the light."

"The communion table looks handmade.  Wonder who did that…"


Oops!

Back to concentrating on the songs.

"I wonder if people are looking at my back.  Do they think I'm fat?"

Back to music.

"Huh, I never noticed those speakers at the bottom of the platform. Or are those heat registers?"

Music, Sharon.


So, you get the picture.  My mind was wandering, rambling.  Roaming around like a hapless hobo stuck on the Trivia Train.  

Then it came time for the sermon.

Determined to stop this crazy meandering, I pulled out my Bible, opened my notebook, put on my reading glasses, clicked my ballpoint pen, and got into my *pious listener posture.*

And then it happened…

A stupid eye twitch in my left eyebrow.

You know what I'm talking about.  Those annoying little tics that wiggle of their own accord.  Sorta like face hiccups.  So, I tried to rub it – no good.  I tried to wiggle my eyebrow up and down – nope.  I even gave it a few little punches – absolutely no good.

Twitching continued.

Now, I might just insert here a moment of praise.  I was thankful that it was my eyebrow, and not my eyelid, that was doing the twitching.  Could you imagine if every time the pastor said something wonderful, I winked at him???

"Amen, Pastor!  (Wink, wink…)"


I looked up this ridiculous phenomenon.

"Although the cause is generally unknown, it may be associated with:

Fatigue, Stress, Caffeine."

(Which is totally weird, as I wasn't tired (HA), stressed (puh-leeze), or jacked up on caffeine, (*chai tea latte – 4 out of 5 on the caffeine scale*).

"This minor form of twitch is painless and harmless.  It usually goes away on its own.  But it can be quite annoying."  

(Which is perhaps the understatement of the week).


Let me say, the sermon was powerful, captivating, and encouraging.

And I managed to take notes and let it all sink in – despite my twitching.

But when I got home, I started to ponder a bit.

I remember reading "The Screwtape Letters," by C. S. Lewis.  Basically, the book is a series of letters written by a senior demon, Screwtape, to his nephew Wormwood, a junior tempter.  After the second letter, the Patient (of Wormwood) converts to Christianity, and Wormwood is chastised for allowing this.

However, Screwtape assures Wormwood that all is not lost.

Though the Patient is lost to them for eternity, they can still render him ineffective.  They can still use him in their battle against the Enemy.

(Interestingly enough, The Enemy of the enemy of our souls is our Friend, God!)

I particularly remember one scene when the Patient is in church, and Screwtape advises Wormwood to keep him distracted.


Yes, the battle against distractions.

C. S. Lewis once said, "Pain insists upon being attended to.  God…shouts in our pains.  It is his megaphone to rouse a deaf world." ("The Problem of Pain")

So I wonder…

Does the devil whisper in distraction?

Does he tap our shoulders lightly through irritation and aggravation?

Does he nudge us from behind over countless frustrations and interruptions?


Most of us will recognize a full-frontal assault.  We know when the devil has unleashed a nuclear bomb attack – illness, death, financial setbacks, etc.

But, it seems to me that he is just as content to use a peashooter.

The incessant onslaught of the countless little distractions that, well, distract us.  It is a very effective weapon.

Screwtape encourages Wormwood to attack his patient's peevishness.  To keep him getting easily irritated by unimportant and insignificant things – the sort of things that can slowly undermine endurance, purpose, and faith.

"Indeed, the safest road [is]…the gentle slope, soft underfoot, without sudden turnings, without milestones, without signposts." ("The Screwtape Letters")

Like the steady drip of a leaky faucet – this strategy can be very effective.

Especially when we are thinking about the Lord – during church or Bible Study, while reading the Bible, while praying…

"When this, or any other distraction, crosses his mind you ought to encourage him to thrust it away by sheer will power and to try to continue...as if nothing had happened; once he accepts the distraction as his present problem and lays that before the Enemy and makes it the main theme of his prayers and his endeavours, then, so far from doing good, you have done harm." ("The Screwtape Letters") 


For yes, indeed, a small rivulet can one day become the torrent that carves a canyon.

And small distractions can subtly lead us away from what matters most – until we find ourselves far, far away.

If we ever kept track of our daily distractions – (don't, it's too distracting!) – but if we did, we'd find that our minds are flitting all over the place most of the time.

And therein is the trap.

What is the devil trying to accomplish by keeping us irritated with interruptions and intrusions on *our* time?

How does he use what Screwtape called "the pressures of the ordinary" to keep us away from the influence of God?

How can the *familiar* breed contempt in our hearts, and the *mundane* blind us to the miraculous?

In what ways are we susceptible to diabolical influence by the use of "the sort of minor but menacing distractions that can slowly undermine the patient's faith"?


These are good things to ponder.

For indeed, the Christian life is full of distractions.  We are often beset by the ordinary moments of being human, blinded by the drudgery of the here-and-now, and burdened with the menial and mundane. 

It all serves to render us ineffective.

Discouraged and defeated.

Saved for eternity, but perhaps no earthly good.


Brothers and sisters, we cannot become complacent in this battle.

For the journey of faith is one of FOCUS.

Intentional, prayerful, Holy-Spirit-enabled determination to live our lives to the glory of God.

Sure, the Narrow Way is sometimes impeded by boulders – but more often than not, it's just littered with pebbles.

And stubbed toes can waylay us just as easily as a broken leg.

Maybe even more effectively – for a "major injury" can sideline us, force us to stop and take stock of what we're doing (or not doing).  Minor "injuries" can sidetrack us.

And we must not be deterred.

For we are called to be actively and single-mindedly focused on Kingdom purposes.

We are called to do battle, waging war against an enemy who has already been conquered, fighting side-by-side with a Savior who has already won our victory.

We must always remember that our minds, our thoughts are a battleground.

We must be canny to the weapon of distraction, and how mightily (and insidiously) this weapon is used against us.

And we must remember that the devil will do anything and everything – big and small – to keep our eyes off of Jesus.


We must be alert and aware.


Do you know that my twitching eye is gone now?  It probably stopped as soon as I walked out of church.  A distraction no longer needed.

But trust me, there will be more.

More today, and more every day until we go home.

For we belong to "The Enemy"– (as Screwtape calls God) – of the enemy of our souls.

And he is not happy about that.

To which I say...

"Good."



Dear Wormwood and Screwtape,

We are aware of your efforts on behalf of your Father Below.  We know that he is a subtle enemy, more often than not preferring an understated attack than a full-frontal assault.  We know that you work tirelessly to distract us from our focus on your Enemy, our Lord.  And we know that we are powerless to fight against you alone.  But, we know what you're up to – we're onto your schemes.  And, praise God, by His wisdom we will not be fooled, and by His strength we will overcome.

By the way, you're already defeated.  Tell that to your leader.  

Remind him of the Cross.

Never yours…truly,
A believer

Don't mind me.

Not winking,
just twitching.

(Wink, wink...) 

"So all of you who are holy partners in a heavenly calling, let's turn our attention to Jesus, the Emissary of God and High Priest, who brought us the faith we profess..." (Hebrews 3:1, VOICE)

"Keep your eyes on Jesus, who both began and finished this race we're in. Study how he did it.  Because he never lost sight of where he was headed..." (Hebrews 12:2, MSG)

"Therefore then, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses [who have borne testimony to the Truth], let us strip off and throw aside every encumbrance (unnecessary weight) and that sin which so readily (deftly and cleverly) clings to and entangles us, and let us run with patient endurance and steady and active persistence the appointed course of the race that is set before us, Looking away [from all that will distract] to Jesus, Who is the Leader and the Source of our faith [giving the first incentive for our belief] and is also its Finisher [bringing it to maturity and perfection]." (Hebrews 12:1-2, AMP)

"I lift up my eyes to you, to you who sit enthroned in heaven." 

(Psalm 123:1, NIV))

"I keep my eyes always on the Lord.  With him at my right hand, I will not be shaken." (Psalm 16:8, NIV)

"But my eyes are fixed on you, Sovereign Lord; in you I take refuge...Keep me safe from the traps set by evildoers, from the snares they have laid for me." (Psalm 141:8-9, NIV)

"You have said, 'Seek my face.'  My heart says to you, 'Your face, LORD, do I seek.'" (Psalm 27:8, ESV)

What *distractions* is the enemy using in your life to avert you from following Jesus?

Linked with:

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