The Tortoise, His Tricks And The Devil.

10 Apr The Tortoise, His Tricks And The Devil.

Many years ago my late dad told us a story about a time when there was a contest for the leadership of the animals in the forest, after the general screening the tortoise and the squirrel emerged as the final contestants. The tortoise suggested a race be held in order to determine who the leader would be, every one wondered why he would suggest that, being one of the slowest animals. The squirrel and other animals were so sure he (the squirrel) was going to win the race. The tortoise was sure he was too, though he was far slower than the squirrel; he had a plan.

His Plan.
The night before the race he set out to the bush path chosen for the race, he carefully placed palm nuts in strategic and very obvious places along the race track, places where they cannot go unnoticed. Finally, he dug a hole a little close to the last lap of the race track, in the corner of the bush path, not unnoticeable too, and covered it with light grasses, leaving a leaf full of palm nuts on the hole, he went back home.

The Race.
Early the next morning, the animals gathered for the race, everything was prepared, the tortoise and the squirrel were called to the start line the hoot was made and the race began. Of course the squirrel ran ahead, but not long after takeoff he saw the first palm nut, he stopped, looked back and not sighting the tortoise, began to munch on the palm nut, saw the second one, stopped looked back and without the tortoise in sight, he stopped, munched on the palm-nut and saw the second one looked back and without the tortoise in sight stopped… you get the drift. Finally he saw the one that had been placed on the hole and immediately it went on, he fell into the hole couldn’t make it out on time.

By the time he finally came out the tortoise, one of the slowest animals had won the race and became leader of the animals. Click To Tweet

A Lot Like Our Lives.
We live in a world full of distractions; like the tortoise the enemy is not powerful enough to win in our lives but like the tortoise he knows how to set up distractions from focus on the things we ought to be doing in order to realize our dreams and fulfil God’s purpose for our lives. He puts before us those things that we really like, those things that we have little or no resistance for.
It could be anything from TV to friends, idle talk, sleep, anything that denies us the ample time to focus and pay attention on getting our dreams and goals, and then like the squirrel we pause our pursuits for a little gratification that would cause us so much waste of time and we struggle so hard to get back on track.

Wisdom Is Needed.
We must be wise enough to know distractions when we see them, and smart enough not to fall for them. Anything that does not help us achieve our goals is a distraction, many times distractions do not come looking like it, the enemy seeks to distract us even with things that are good but not needful. Like Apostle Paul we must learn to be disciplined and focused so that we will not live to regret the times we wasted on things that were not helpful to our dreams and goals.

Brothers and sisters, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead,  I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus. Philippians 3:13-14 NIV

Do you have a dream, a vision, an aspiration, a goal, a target? Are you doing what you should be doing, how you should be doing it, when you should be doing it, to make your dreams a reality?
Are you allowing distractions to deny you of the satisfaction and bliss God intends for you on earth and in eternity?

Therefore I do not run uncertainly (without definite aim). I do not box like one beating the air and striking without an adversary. But like a boxer I buffet my body handle it roughly, discipline it by hardships and subdue it…1 Corinthians 9:26-27 AMP

Build Up Resistance.
We must build up resistance to distractions, to those things the enemy puts in the way, those things that are not needful at the time in pursuit of our goals. We must “suffer” our flesh in order to enjoy success in life, we must learn to ignore the cries of our flesh to indulge, no matter how loud it cries out and how bad it hurts.
Whatever your vision is; Physical, material, spiritual, success in any area of life; spiritual, marriage, finance, relationship, weight loss, weight gain, academics, whatever it is; you must focus only on those things that will help you achieve it, other wise you might get distracted and never achieve what you would have if you had kept your focus.
What is your goal? Are you keeping focused on the things that are necessary for you to achieve it?

So let’s keep focused on that goal, those of us who want everything God has for us. If any of you have something else in mind, something less than total commitment, God will clear your blurred vision—you’ll see it yet! Now that we’re on the right track, let’s stay on it. Philippians 3:15-16 MSG

You can avoid living a life of regrets if you choose to beat distractions and keep your focus on the prize. Click To Tweet

Are you beating distractions?

Copyright© Teshuva 2015