When Satan Can’t Destroy You, He’ll Distract You
The devil doesn’t always come with claws and fire. Sometimes he comes with comfort, busyness, and noise.
I’ll be honest: sometimes it’s not sin that pulls me away from God, it’s noise. There was a season when distraction was my biggest enemy. I’d tell myself, “I’ll have time to pray and do my devotions later,” but that later rarely came. Even in relationships, I noticed how easy it was to give my attention to people and notifications more than to the Lord. I’ve since learned (and am still learning) to silence some of that noise. Because distraction, if left unchecked, will slowly drown out devotion.
“Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour.”
— 1 Peter 5:8
The devil doesn’t need to make you wicked to make you useless. If he can’t destroy your walk, he’ll distract your focus. He knows a busy Christian is often too busy for the Bible, too tired for prayer, and too distracted to discern. The enemy’s plan isn’t always to burn your faith down but to bury it under noise.
Satan’s greatest victories aren’t always through rebellion but through redirection. He loves to take a believer off their mission. He loves to turn our eyes from the heavenly to the earthly, from devotion to distraction, and from worship to worry. If he can’t make you fall, he’ll just make you drift.
Jesus said, “No man can serve two masters.” Yet most believers try to. We juggle faith and flesh, prayer and pleasure, devotion and distraction. The devil delights in the divided heart because a distracted Christian is a defeated one.
Think of Martha. She was busy serving, yet missing the better part that Mary found at Jesus’ feet (Luke 10:38-42). The devil doesn’t mind if you serve, as long as you don’t sit. He’ll let you work in the church if it keeps you from worshipping the Lord of the church. He fills your schedule, your feed, and your mind until your soul has no quiet left. The strength that should be spent on the Lord’s work is wasted scrolling, stressing, and chasing.
Every believer is called to a work for God, yet many never fulfill it. This isn’t because they turned back, but because they got turned aside. Lot’s wife looked back, Demas loved this present world, and countless others lost time that could’ve been used for eternity.
The devil knows he cannot snatch your salvation once you’re saved, but he’ll do all he can to steal the seasons of your life here on earth. He’ll keep you busy so you never become fruitful for the Lord.
So what is the Christian to do? Hebrews 12:2 says:
“Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith.”
Every day, you decide where to look. The devil says, “Look around.” The world says, “Look within.” Yet the Word says, “Look unto Jesus.”
Don’t let the noise of this world drown out the still, small voice of God. Silence the distractions, strengthen your focus, and fix your eyes on Christ. Remember: when the enemy can’t make you sinful, he’ll settle for making you busy.