Distractions

Tuesday 3/22/2011 4:57 AM

Today I read Psalm 63, written by David when he was in the desert of Judah.  He speaks of earnestly seeking after God, thirsting for him, glorifying him, lifting up his hands in praise of him, remembering him throughout the night, singing in the shadows and clinging to him.  All of these actions suggest that David had a deeply intimate relationship with God.  When I am away from all the hustle and bustle of life, on retreat in the desert if you will, it is easier to foster that kind of intimacy and engage in deep reflection.  But as I sit here this morning my mind is preoccupied with the tests I need to correct before Wednesday, the lessons I have to teach today, the calls I need to make as an elder, the progress of our kitchen remodeling, the health of Jessica, Kate and their babies among other things.  When I get home from work in the evenings I sit down to relax and either turn on the television, go online or find some other distraction to disengage from my work-a-day world.

Modern society has done much to simplify the necessary jobs of finding food for one’s family and providing shelter, which produces more time for possible reflection on God’s love and provision for us.  Unfortunately I do not avail myself of the time for that purpose, filling the time instead with things that distract me from focusing on God.  I wonder if David’s psalms would even exist if he had lived in our modern world and western culture and, if so, what they would look like.  It seems to me that developing intimacy with God is much more difficult in today’s world and takes a more directed effort.