Yikes! Where is it all going? Middle of August already…almost time for the children to go back to school. Where did the summer go? It was a nice one! A little wet, a little warmth with some breaks in between…nothing too excessive.
It’s like May morphed into June which flew into July and now into August.
I hope you had an opportunity to get away. I hope you received some “down time.” But even that – happens less and less…these days. We are active people who happen to lead some pretty active lives! Always on the go…
The pace of life continues to escalate. It’s like it has a snowballing effect even in the heat and the heart of summer.
We all have “multiple responsibilities” and “conflicting schedules” – which can even frazzle the best of us.
No wonder cell phone and pocket computer sales continue to sky rocket.
More and more of us are relying on apps and calendars in our phones to give us a heads up of what is coming next.
Too many things need to be scheduled and there are way too many places we have to be…
Sometimes it can become overwhelming.
We need all the help we can get to help organize our “increasingly fragmented” lives.
Stress, stress and more stress…modern life runs thick with stress…and add just one disaster to our stressed-filled-lives and lookout world.
Sometimes it is hard to stay focused. Too many balls in the air, too many tasks to be done…and of course, not enough time.
Imagine then, the stress of Jesus’ followers as they attempted to sail at night on the Sea of Galilee. They were caught in the midst of a storm, in the dark in the middle of the night and they could barely see a thing.
It is not uncommon for strong wind storms to whip up wave crests up to six feet high on the Sea of Galilee.
Even the experienced fishermen don’t want to get caught in one of these “brutal storms” – especially at night! It is easy to lose your bearings…and it is difficult to keep focused on the task at hand…when you are being tossed and thrown around.
“Raging storms” at sea are a friend of “no one.”
Staying focused is not easy task, especially today.
Psychologists are now saying…we rarely “focus and attend” any task for more than 3 to 5 minutes before getting distracted — primarily by emails, texts, and social media.
“The bottom line is we are all constantly “self-distracting” whether you’re in school, at your job, or just at home.”
I would like to know how many times the average person checks their phone in an hour?
Can you believe someone did a study on it. I know ‘cause I googled it! Americans alone check their phones over 8 billion times per day. That breaks down to about 74 checks during your work or leisure day. Minimally three times an hour. Minimally.
We are not preoccupied and we always remain focused… Sure thing!
Now imagine being in a boat in the dead of night – in a violent storm – with thrashing waves.
Yeah right, focus!
Imagine poor Peter attempting to meet Jesus on the water…and not be distracted! Focus!
Yeah right!
But this whole text that is before us is not about “walking on water” and it’s definitely not about “Peter.”
It is about “trusting Jesus” and “remaining focused.”
Peter could not accomplish it and I do not think we would do do any better.
There is too much going on, too much requiring our attention, too much to do…
Our attention span is short. So “if” we are “trusting God” or if we are “trusting Jesus” – we are doing so for 3 to 5 minutes…
And then we are interrupted, then we are distracted…then we check our phone, or turn on the computer or look at our calendar, or our stomachs are growling reminding ourselves that we haven’t eaten yet today…
The distractions are everywhere, they are constant…
What was he preaching about? Blah, blah, blah…God gets it…we are in and out…up and down…we drift away…
But the good news for some of us – is that we always get back…we know where we are grounded…we know what is important…we know what we should be doing…we know where our foundation is…we know who saves us and forgives us…
Cream Puffs…there were two State Fair Cream Puffs in the refrigerator…far be it – for me to get distracted! And I know who put them there!
Amen.