I have written about how little things can mean a lot to us. The older I get, the more I realize the importance of some of those things that seemed so insignificant at the time. However, there are also some little things that can spell trouble or even disaster for us. They are often minor distractions or maybe a combination of little things that begin to weigh us down. This past Wednesday, I was unable to post to my blog as usual because of a series of minor technical problems that eventually forced me to buy a new laptop and then get used to a different computer system. In essence, this old dog had to learn some new tricks in order to get back on track with my blog. A series of little things can seem as irritating and disruptive as a major storm in life.
Anyone who has driven for a while can testify that a minor distraction taking your eyes off the road for just a few seconds can cause the car to drift to the shoulder of the road, or worse, cause it to drift into the path of oncoming traffic. Just as driving requires our complete and constant attention, living an obedient Christian life requires our awareness and concentration. Satan loves to create little distractions to cause us to shift our attention and drift off course. How can we avoid getting off track like that? I read somewhere about the “5 by 5 Rule”. If it is something that won’t matter five years from now, don’t spend more than five minutes thinking or worrying about it.
There is also another way to identify and avoid those little tricks the enemy loves to employ. There are some Christians who claim to have a “gift of discernment”. I believe all Christians have access to that gift by simply asking the Holy Spirit within us to help us see clearly what is important and what is not; what is true and what is false; and who we can trust and who can’t be trusted. The more we pay attention to His guidance and respond accordingly, the more natural and stronger our discernment will become.