Do we allow ourselves to be distracted, or do we buy time?

“The world with its lust is passing away, but the one who does the will of God remains forever.” (1 John 2:17)

After the Fall, Cain’s descendants tried to make their lives as pleasant as possible through possessions, music, and inventions of all kinds in order to be happy without God (Genesis 4). This same attitude still characterizes the world today.

How many things have people invented since then that distract them from focusing on what is connected with eternity! Just think of the explosive development of technology and means of communication in recent decades. These things are not evil in themselves and can also be used for good, but they now take up much more space in the lives of most of us who use them than we would like. Twenty years ago, people could easily get by without a cell phone, but today, many people look at their smartphones, which they carry almost everywhere, an average of 80 times a day. How much time is lost that is actually entrusted to us so that we can redeem it with an eye to eternity!

The Lord Jesus deliberately sought out desolate places to be alone (Luke 4:42) and to ask for God’s will in prayer (Mark 1:35). In the desert and on the mountain, He is alone with God and finds rest, before and after His ministry (Luke 6:16; Matthew 14:23). Although He has a lot to do, He is never stressed. He did not live under the tyranny of time.

A deserted place is boring because nothing interesting distracts us. Where are our deserted places where we regularly retreat to talk to God undisturbed and find peace?