Resolve | Pastor Ernie Jaurique
How to Stay Focused on God When
Distractions Pull You Away
What does it take to distract you?
Maybe you genuinely want to grow in your relationship with Jesus. You want to leave behind an old way of living and step more fully into this life in Christ. You hear what it looks like to follow Jesus, and something inside you says, That's who I want to become.
Then you go home.
You go back to work. You see your friends. You get around people who knew the old you. And suddenly the questions begin.
Are you really going to spend your time doing that?
You know you've got better things to do.
This isn't going to last.
I know you. You're not that kind of person.
Sometimes those voices don't even come from other people. Sometimes they come from inside us.
Maybe this is too much. Maybe I can't do this.
The story of Nehemiah may be about 2,500 years old, but that struggle isn't ancient at all. Nehemiah faced opposition, ridicule, threats, rumors, fear—and eventually something even more subtle: distraction disguised as opportunity.
His response gives us a powerful picture of how to stay focused on God when everything around us is trying to pull us away.
Not Every Good Opportunity Is God's Priority
Nehemiah and the people had nearly finished rebuilding Jerusalem's wall when his enemies changed tactics.
Instead of openly attacking him, they invited him to a meeting.
On the surface, the invitation could have looked reasonable. Maybe even productive.
Could this have been an opportunity to build bridges? Could getting together have brought some unity?
Could this even be from God?
Nehemiah knew it wasn't.
Why?
It didn't match the work God had called him to do.
That distinction matters because some of the greatest distractions in our lives aren't necessarily bad things.
They're good things that pull us away from great things.
Nehemiah essentially said:
“I am doing a great work and I cannot come down.”
That is more than a statement about rebuilding a wall. It's a principle for living with God-given priorities.
Don't Sacrifice a Great Thing for a Good Thing
How do you know what you shouldn't “come down” from?
It begins by identifying your God-given priorities.
Your walk with Jesus is a great thing. Yet every day there are perfectly good things that can crowd out beginning and continuing your day with Jesus.
Your marriage is a great thing. Yet there will always be good opportunities that compete with being present with your spouse.
Your family is a great thing. There will always be other people who need something from you, but your children and grandchildren also need you to help prepare them for the path ahead.
Your involvement in God's kingdom through His church is a great thing. It's worth asking:
Why did God place me in His church?
Knowing your priorities helps you recognize whether an opportunity contributes to the great work or distracts you from it.
The question isn't simply:
“Is this a good thing?”
A better question may be:
“Is this worth coming down from the great thing God has already given me?”
Staying Focused on God Requires Knowing Your Priorities
Our priorities won't all look exactly the same, but the questions are worth asking.
Are you His?
Are you married?
Are you single? What would it look like to become the man or woman of God you believe God wants you to be?
Do you have a family? What does loving and leading your family like Jesus look like?
Sometimes a promotion pays good money but costs great time.
And what does your involvement in advancing God's kingdom in and through your church look like?
When you understand your priorities, you become better equipped to recognize the difference between an opportunity for the great work and a distraction from it.
Distraction Doesn't Always Look Like Distraction
Nehemiah's enemies didn't give up after one attempt.
Four times.
Same invitation.
Same response.
Then they tried something different: rumors.
They publicly accused Nehemiah of planning a rebellion and trying to make himself king.
Nehemiah refused to be pulled away.
When you're trying to become a different person through Christ, lies about your character can derail you. They can amplify fear, insecurity, and self-doubt until your attention moves away from God and toward self-preservation.
And the more focused we become on protecting ourselves, the harder it becomes to focus on God's kingdom.
Nehemiah responded differently.
He prayed.
He didn't ask God for permission to abandon the work.
He asked God for strength to continue it.
You Are Not Accountable to Your Critics
Nehemiah's enemies tried invitations. They tried rumors. They tried fear. Eventually, they even tried using someone who sounded spiritual to convince him to run and hide.
Nehemiah refused.
Nehemiah knew who was ultimately in control.
That raises an uncomfortable question for us:
We can say we trust God—but what do our actions prove?
You are not ultimately accountable to your enemies or your critics, even when they work hard to convince you that you are.
You are accountable to the One who invited you to partner with Him.
Above everything else, that means abiding, dwelling, living, and remaining in Christ. It means allowing God's Spirit and God's Word to abide in you, lead you, and have the first and last word over your life.
From that foundation, you can recognize the other great things God has entrusted to you:
Loving your spouse well.
Leading your children toward Jesus.
Living like Jesus in front of the people who know you.
Making disciples of Jesus Christ our King.
Advancing His kingdom in and through your life.
Staying Focused Requires Discipline
Knowing your priorities isn't enough.
You have to protect them.
Be confident in what God has asked you to partner with Him on and stay focused.
That requires discipline.
A disciplined person learns not to be continually lured away by distractions. They resolve to complete the task at hand.
Nehemiah had decided:
I'm doing a great work, and I can't come down.
What would change if you approached your relationship with Jesus that way?
Your marriage?
Your family?
Your role in God's kingdom?
What good things are consuming time and energy that belong to something greater?
Sometimes Your Worst Critic Is You
There is one more voice that can pull us down from the work.
Our own.
Sometimes your worst persecutor and your harshest critic is yourself.
You remember yesterday.
You remember last night.
You remember what you've done and who you've been, and you begin acting as though yours is somehow the one life Jesus didn't pay for with His blood.
But the grace of God is undeserved favor and undeserved forgiveness, poured out richly through Jesus.
That grace covers your past, your present, and your future—and leads you toward a life of purpose and peace.
Peace with God.
And peace with yourself.
Not because of everything you've done, but because of everything He has done.
Bought and paid for by His blood and proved by the resurrection of our great God and King, Jesus.
The Challenge: Decide What You Won't Come Down From
So what has to happen for you to call it quits?
What does it take for you—even temporarily—to take your eyes off God, stop growing in your relationship with Jesus, stop living like Jesus, or stop leading others to do the same?
The challenge is simple:
Set your priorities in Christ.
Discipline your life to keep them.
That's your wall to build.
Then, when opposition comes, criticism comes, fear comes, or even a genuinely good opportunity threatens to pull you away from what matters most, learn to say with Nehemiah:
Stay focused.
Stay faithful.
And let your life proclaim:
Jesus is Lord.
Maybe you genuinely want to grow in your relationship with Jesus. You want to leave behind an old way of living and step more fully into this life in Christ. You hear what it looks like to follow Jesus, and something inside you says, That's who I want to become.
Then you go home.
You go back to work. You see your friends. You get around people who knew the old you. And suddenly the questions begin.
Are you really going to spend your time doing that?
You know you've got better things to do.
This isn't going to last.
I know you. You're not that kind of person.
Sometimes those voices don't even come from other people. Sometimes they come from inside us.
Maybe this is too much. Maybe I can't do this.
The story of Nehemiah may be about 2,500 years old, but that struggle isn't ancient at all. Nehemiah faced opposition, ridicule, threats, rumors, fear—and eventually something even more subtle: distraction disguised as opportunity.
His response gives us a powerful picture of how to stay focused on God when everything around us is trying to pull us away.
Not Every Good Opportunity Is God's Priority
Nehemiah and the people had nearly finished rebuilding Jerusalem's wall when his enemies changed tactics.
Instead of openly attacking him, they invited him to a meeting.
Nehemiah 6:2–3 (ESV): “Sanballat and Geshem sent to me, saying, ‘Come and let us meet together at Hakkephirim in the plain of Ono.’ But they intended to do me harm. And I sent messengers to them, saying, ‘I am doing a great work and I cannot come down. Why should the work stop while I leave it and come down to you?’”
On the surface, the invitation could have looked reasonable. Maybe even productive.
Could this have been an opportunity to build bridges? Could getting together have brought some unity?
Could this even be from God?
Nehemiah knew it wasn't.
Why?
It didn't match the work God had called him to do.
That distinction matters because some of the greatest distractions in our lives aren't necessarily bad things.
They're good things that pull us away from great things.
Nehemiah essentially said:
“I am doing a great work and I cannot come down.”
That is more than a statement about rebuilding a wall. It's a principle for living with God-given priorities.
Don't Sacrifice a Great Thing for a Good Thing
How do you know what you shouldn't “come down” from?
It begins by identifying your God-given priorities.
Your walk with Jesus is a great thing. Yet every day there are perfectly good things that can crowd out beginning and continuing your day with Jesus.
Your marriage is a great thing. Yet there will always be good opportunities that compete with being present with your spouse.
Your family is a great thing. There will always be other people who need something from you, but your children and grandchildren also need you to help prepare them for the path ahead.
Your involvement in God's kingdom through His church is a great thing. It's worth asking:
Why did God place me in His church?
Knowing your priorities helps you recognize whether an opportunity contributes to the great work or distracts you from it.
The question isn't simply:
“Is this a good thing?”
A better question may be:
“Is this worth coming down from the great thing God has already given me?”
Staying Focused on God Requires Knowing Your Priorities
Our priorities won't all look exactly the same, but the questions are worth asking.
Are you His?
Are you married?
Ephesians 5:33 (ESV): “However, let each one of you love his wife as himself, and let the wife see that she respects her husband.”
Are you single? What would it look like to become the man or woman of God you believe God wants you to be?
Do you have a family? What does loving and leading your family like Jesus look like?
Sometimes a promotion pays good money but costs great time.
And what does your involvement in advancing God's kingdom in and through your church look like?
When you understand your priorities, you become better equipped to recognize the difference between an opportunity for the great work and a distraction from it.
Distraction Doesn't Always Look Like Distraction
Nehemiah's enemies didn't give up after one attempt.
Nehemiah 6:4 (ESV): “And they sent to me four times in this way, and I answered them in the same manner.”
Four times.
Same invitation.
Same response.
Then they tried something different: rumors.
They publicly accused Nehemiah of planning a rebellion and trying to make himself king.
Nehemiah refused to be pulled away.
Nehemiah 6:8 (ESV): “Then I sent to him, saying, ‘No such things as you say have been done, for you are inventing them out of your own mind.’”
When you're trying to become a different person through Christ, lies about your character can derail you. They can amplify fear, insecurity, and self-doubt until your attention moves away from God and toward self-preservation.
And the more focused we become on protecting ourselves, the harder it becomes to focus on God's kingdom.
Nehemiah responded differently.
He prayed.
Nehemiah 6:9 (ESV): “For they all wanted to frighten us, thinking, ‘Their hands will drop from the work, and it will not be done.’ But now, O God, strengthen my hands.”
He didn't ask God for permission to abandon the work.
He asked God for strength to continue it.
You Are Not Accountable to Your Critics
Nehemiah's enemies tried invitations. They tried rumors. They tried fear. Eventually, they even tried using someone who sounded spiritual to convince him to run and hide.
Nehemiah refused.
Nehemiah 6:11 (ESV): “But I said, ‘Should such a man as I run away? And what man such as I could go into the temple and live? I will not go in.’”
Nehemiah knew who was ultimately in control.
That raises an uncomfortable question for us:
We can say we trust God—but what do our actions prove?
You are not ultimately accountable to your enemies or your critics, even when they work hard to convince you that you are.
You are accountable to the One who invited you to partner with Him.
Above everything else, that means abiding, dwelling, living, and remaining in Christ. It means allowing God's Spirit and God's Word to abide in you, lead you, and have the first and last word over your life.
From that foundation, you can recognize the other great things God has entrusted to you:
Loving your spouse well.
Leading your children toward Jesus.
Living like Jesus in front of the people who know you.
Making disciples of Jesus Christ our King.
Advancing His kingdom in and through your life.
Staying Focused Requires Discipline
Knowing your priorities isn't enough.
You have to protect them.
Be confident in what God has asked you to partner with Him on and stay focused.
That requires discipline.
A disciplined person learns not to be continually lured away by distractions. They resolve to complete the task at hand.
Nehemiah had decided:
I'm doing a great work, and I can't come down.
What would change if you approached your relationship with Jesus that way?
Your marriage?
Your family?
Your role in God's kingdom?
What good things are consuming time and energy that belong to something greater?
Sometimes Your Worst Critic Is You
There is one more voice that can pull us down from the work.
Our own.
Sometimes your worst persecutor and your harshest critic is yourself.
You remember yesterday.
You remember last night.
You remember what you've done and who you've been, and you begin acting as though yours is somehow the one life Jesus didn't pay for with His blood.
But the grace of God is undeserved favor and undeserved forgiveness, poured out richly through Jesus.
That grace covers your past, your present, and your future—and leads you toward a life of purpose and peace.
Peace with God.
And peace with yourself.
Not because of everything you've done, but because of everything He has done.
Bought and paid for by His blood and proved by the resurrection of our great God and King, Jesus.
The Challenge: Decide What You Won't Come Down From
So what has to happen for you to call it quits?
What does it take for you—even temporarily—to take your eyes off God, stop growing in your relationship with Jesus, stop living like Jesus, or stop leading others to do the same?
The challenge is simple:
Set your priorities in Christ.
Discipline your life to keep them.
That's your wall to build.
Then, when opposition comes, criticism comes, fear comes, or even a genuinely good opportunity threatens to pull you away from what matters most, learn to say with Nehemiah:
“I am doing a great work and I cannot come down.” — Nehemiah 6:3 (ESV)
Stay focused.
Stay faithful.
And let your life proclaim:
Jesus is Lord.
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