My heart has been distracted this past week.

I have three–no, four–no, five major projects I am working on. Planning meetings and emails with colleagues have crowded my day. My own seemingly endless to-do list threatens to choke out any sanity I have left.

And because of these distractions, my heart experienced symptoms of anxiety: the fever of too much to do and the cold sweat of not being able to get everything done. 

You have probably felt symptoms like these. Has the strain of endless work at home or the stress of the workplace have left your heart shaky and weak?

What is the antidote for a distracted heart? Simply to bring it to Jesus. 

Francis de Sales, a priest in Switzerland in the 1500’s, wrote:

If the heart wanders or is distracted, bring it back to the point quite gently and replace it tenderly in its Master’s presence. And even if you did nothing during the whole of your hour but bring your heart back and place it again in Our Lord’s presence, though it went away every time you brought it back, your hour would be very well employed.

Jesus promised His disciples–and us–“I am with you always, to the end of the age” (Matthew 28:20).  But in the rush of all my life crises, I tend to forget–He’s here. In the preoccupation of my jumbled mind, I grasp at the tangled cords of my thoughts and let go of the Savior’s hands. In fixing my eyes on the problems, the hassles, the deadlines, I take my gaze off the Lord’s hands–the hands that continually beckon me to come.

This week I still have a hundred things to complete. But the most important thing on my task list is to continually bring my heart back to Christ and His peace. Whenever my heart has wandered away from God’s tranquil presence, I will gently bring it back to His loving hands.

That is the antidote to a distracted soul.

So whenever you notice the symptoms of anxiety and stress, recognize your distracted heart. Bring it back to Jesus.

Next step: This week notice the symptoms of a distracted heart: anxiety and stress. Whenever you experience these symptoms, stop for a moment. Whisper the Savior’s name. Sing a song of praise in your heart. Remind yourself with Jesus’ own words, “I am with you always, to the end of the age.” Bring your distracted heart back to the presence of God.

If you would like to learn more about avoiding distractions and living a focused life, check out my new book Distracted: Finding Faith-Focus Habits for a Frenzied World on Amazon. The ebook is only $3.99!

Inside you will find 16 Faith-Focus Habits that will help you:

• find focus by connecting to God 
• truly pay attention to what is essential
• prioritize your day
• find focus in your work
• make important choices
• defeat the distractions of technology
• find rest in our hectic world

Abiding in Christ.

Every year I choose one word to focus on. One word to guide the next twelve months.

At the beginning of 2017, I chose “abide.” I hoped that studying and meditating on that word would help me understand it better. I kept asking, “What does that word mean, exactly?” “How do I abide?” “How does abiding help my relationship with Jesus?” “How can it affect my daily life?”

Although I am still learning, still growing, I am going to share what I have learned so far. I am going to tell three ways abiding in Christ changed my life. This post will concentrate on connecting.

When I began the study of abiding, one of the things I did was to memorize verses with the word “abide.” The first verse I memorized was John 15:5:

I am the vine; you are the branches. Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing.

As I meditated on this verse, I realized that I often focus on bearing fruit–working for God’s kingdom, making a difference in the world. But if I’m trying hard to produce fruit on my own, it won’t work. Jesus tells me, “Apart from me you can do nothing.” I’m trying to squeeze out some awesome grapes (aka “amazing accomplishments”), but I end up exhausted and frustrated.

Then I recognized the fact that bearing fruit is not really my job. My role is to simply abide in Christ. And if I abide, fruit comes naturally.

Think about it. What if the branch said to the vine, “I’m working really hard right now to produce some fantastic grapes. All I need to do is read some more books on horticulture and get up before the sun and work till dark. It will be exhausting, but worth it. Vine, I don’t really need you, I just need to put in a little more effort.”

But the vine says, “It’s useless to try to produce fruit without Me. If you are not connected to me, you will not receive the water and nutrients that are necessary for growth and fruit. All you really need to do is stay connected to me. I will give you everything you need to produce amazing fruit if you just abide in me.”

So what does it mean to abide in Christ? We will explore that a little deeper in the upcoming posts, but to put it simply–to abide in Christ is to connect to Jesus. To keep my eyes on Him, trust Him for everything, and to rely on Him instead of my own abilities. It is to obey God’s commands because they are the instruction book for a fruitful and meaningful life. It is to sink my roots deep into His unconditional love and trust that what the Father wills is best.

This focus on abiding changed my life because it changed my attention from:

“How can I produce more?” or “How can I accomplish more?”

to:

“How can I connect to Jesus today?” and “How can I draw on His strength right now?

I shift my focus from what I can produce to what Jesus can accomplish. I turn my attention from doing to resting in His love.

So if you are exhausted by trying to squeeze out fruit–produce something impressive, accomplish something big–remember that’s not your job. Your role is to abide in the vine–Jesus–and then the fruit will come naturally.

Next step: Ask God to show you if you have been focusing more on producing or more on abiding. Write a prayer asking Him to help you learn to abide.

Check out my other posts on abiding in Christ: Keeping and Remaining.