“You then, my child, be strengthened by the grace that is in Christ Jesus, and what you have heard from me in the presence of many witnesses entrust to faithful men, who will be able to teach others also. Share in suffering as a good soldier of Christ Jesus. No soldier gets entangled in civilian pursuits, since his aim is to please the one who enlisted him …. If we have died with Him, we will also live with Him; if we endure, we will also reign with Him; if we deny Him, He also will deny us; if we are faithless, He remains faithful—for He cannot deny Himself.“

(2 Timothy 2:1-4, 11b-13 ESV)

Have you ever served in the military? I have not, but my husband was in the Vietnam War. He flew planes for the Vietnamese Air Force. And he learned very quickly that he needed to keep his mind on his job.

It wasn’t safe to get distracted. One young man went up on a solo flight from Tan Son Nhut Airport and forgot to pay attention to the landmarks. He got lost in the sky!

Getting distracted as a Christian can also be dangerous. We live in a world where there are many things to take our attention away from Jesus. Some of them are sinful; some of them are not, but they can still cause trouble if they take up all of our attention. If we get caught up in the things of this world—getting ahead at work, buying bigger and better cars or houses or things—these can distract us from Jesus, and from living a life that is fruitful for Him. Before we realize it, we have lost our landmarks and are flying blind.

Thanks be to God! Jesus did not get distracted in His mission to save us! He had His eye on the goal—rescuing me and you and all people from the power of evil. He intended to lay down His life and rise again, so that everyone who trusts in Him would live forever. And Jesus carried this out. Nobody—not kings or priests or leaders or His own family—was allowed to distract Him. Why? Because He loved us and was willing to fight for us to the end to save us. Thank You, Jesus.

Prayer: Dear Lord, keep my eyes on You and my heart set on Your will. Amen.

This Daily Devotion was written by Dr. Kari Vo.
Originally published in The Lutheran Hour on October 5, 2022
Used by permission from International Lutheran Laymen’s League, all rights reserved

Reflection Questions:
1. Have you ever been distracted at just the wrong time? Tell the story.
2. In what situations do you pay your best attention? Why?
3. What does it tell you, to know that God is paying attention to you?