Drowning In Distraction

Exodus 1:22 (NLT) -

Then Pharaoh gave this order to all his people: "Throw every newborn Hebrew boy into the Nile River. But you may let the girls live."

Matthew 13:7, 22 (NIV)

Other seed fell among thorns, which grew up and choked the plants... The seed falling among the thorns refers to someone who hears the word, but the worries of this life and the deceitfulness of wealth choke the word, making it unfruitful.

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My devotion this morning, taking from the beginning of Exodus, talked about how Satan tries to throw us into the Nile River, which represents the passions, pleasures, distractions, and worries of this world, in order to suffocate and drown our faith.

While reading it, I was reminded of two things: the first, an old saying that says, "If the devil can't make you bad, he'll make you busy." So often, we let things creep in and slowly push out our time with God, whether that be work, study, relationships, or anything else. But when that happens, things start to fall apart, because God's no longer at the centre.

The second thing I was reminded of was that in both Hebrew and Greek, the terms used for the Holy Spirit include the word for "air" or "breath" - in Hebrew, it is ruach (Ruach HaKodesh), and in Greek it is pneuma (Pneuma Hagion). Suffocation happens when you lose your ability to breathe.

Satan tries to suffocate us - cut us off from our source of breath, the Holy Spirit - by drowning us in distractions and pleasures. If and when we go under, we might struggle and kick and scream and fight to begin with. After all, we can't live without breath. Under that water, in the middle of those distractions, we slowly start dying.

Our bodies' natural instinct is to preserve the most valuable parts of us, so our hands and feet are the first to go - it's interesting to note that one of the first signs of spiritual death is when we stop evangelising, participating in the mission Jesus called us to by bringing the Gospel to the people around us.

If we still aren't getting any breath, our heart runs out of oxygen to pump around the body. Eventually more and more parts of our body will start shutting down too. Sometimes, we might be able to fight back enough to catch a fleeting breath - a moment of reality or an encounter with the Holy Spirit - and it will be enough to keep us alive for a little longer. But unless the suffocation stops, it only delays the inevitable and makes our death even more slow and painful.

I have heard it said that people who are drowning have feelings of euphoria and peace in the last moments before they lose consciousness. If we stay under that water of distraction for long enough, separated from the Holy Spirit, then the struggling will slowly come to an end, and you may even feel a sense of euphoria - joy that you are now living the life that you want to live. But underneath it all, you know that something is missing, that there is something not quite right. It is the breath of the Holy Spirit, and every part of your soul is screaming out for it, even if in this moment it seems like things are fine (or at the very least, manageable).

The truth is, we aren't strong enough to fight back on our own, especially not while we're half-choked to death. What we can do, however, is call out for help, and God will come and rescue us. All it takes is for a moment, breaking free of the distraction enough to put your hands up in the sky and call for help. God will come, He will pull you out of the waters, and He will set your feet back on dry land and help you to breathe once again.

I know, because I was there. The last couple of months, I have been drowning in distractions, and though I've been able to snatch breaths from time to time, I felt myself slowly dying. But God, in His amazing grace, is pulling me back up and bringing me back to shore. He is helping me to breathe again. If He can do it for me, He can do it for you.