He is...My Shield - The Deflector of Distractions

Oh precious sister, I’m so glad you joined me today. Come on in, sit for awhile.
I’ve just poured you a nice tall glass of sweet tea. Let’s just chat.

Think back to the last time you were serving Him. That’s right! It was in choir last
Sunday morning. Remember that sweet look of contentment on your face as you sang.

I look around and I see
All the works that Your hands have made
The awesomeness of You
And how Your love will never fail
Mere words cannot express what I feel inside
I can’t describe Your glory divine
But as a token of my love
This is what I’ll do
I lift my hands and cry Holy

Lord, You’re Holy
Lord, You’re Holy
And we lift You up
And magnify Your Name
Lord, You’re Holy
Lord, You’re Holy
And we lift You up
And magnify Your Name

You know you’ve been in the presence of the Savior. You can feel the sweet peace that falls over a congregation at the close of a praise song. The pastor has just made his way to the podium to deliver God’s word. But before you’ve even had a chance to open your Bible, someone comes to tell you that your sweet Jonathan has managed to bite a precious little girl in the nursery. Distractions! Then the mind tapes play. You probably shouldn’t even be in choir! Why, you should only be ministering to small children for the next 5 years! What made you think you think you have a decent voice? You can hardly sing the alto part, let alone leas others in worship!


Or maybe you were serving Him as you sat in a church meeting, planning for the upcoming youth events. You just volunteered to serve as a host home for 15 eighth grade girls. Your passion has always been to minister to young girls, making God’s word come alive in their every day lives. You can already smell the popcorn and hear their laughter. The best is yet to come as they quiet down and you’re sharing how God impacted your life as a teenager. Someone interrupts that vision! Another lady in the meeting states, “We do have a home with much more room, dear. Surely you don’t mean for all 15 of those girls to stay in your house. Where would they all fit?” Distractions! Then the mind tapes play. She’s right! We really don’t have much to offer. The girls would probably prefer sleeping in separate rooms vs. having everybody sleep downstairs in sleeping bags. What was I thinking? We’ll never own a big fancy house.
In the first scenario, our sweet sister actually started her service for God, and then got distracted. With the second lady, Satan had already pushed the play button before she actually had a chance to open her home to those middle school girls, who desperately need to hear God’s word in a Christian “home”.

And if you think that once you’ve finished a project or an act of service for the Lord, that you will not be distracted, or tapes are no where to be found… Oh, girlfriend… not so! The pause button is just about ready to be pushed. And who do you think has his finger on the play button?

Here’s an example:

Freedom’s Call was invited to do a ladies conference this past weekend at The Mary Hall Freedom House. Their beautiful mission statement reads: To improve the quality of life of women and women with children by empowering them to break the cycle of addiction, poverty and homelessness. The director of The Mary Hall Freedom House, Lucy Hall, is dedicated to serving these women by investing in their lives and showing them that Christ is the answer. Over 2500 women have completed the program since 1996.

The weekend was incredible. God took over and did a work in us and the women at the Freedom House like no other. The worship was anointed and Jill brought forth the Word of God with power and compassion. Breakout sessions were packed with good questions, shared heartaches and testimonies, and true revelations from God. The Holy Spirit had free reign to move about as He set women free from their chains, You can imagine how the lyrics from songs like “Shackles” and “Amazing Grace/ My Chains Are Gone” fell fresh upon those ladies and the five of us in Freedom’s Call.

On our way home from the weekend conference, we were fairly quiet. I felt extra weepy for the next several days (I still do). When folks asked how things went, I was barely able to blurt out more than, great, amazing. I believe that when we encounter the Supernatural, we will have a hard time describing it with man’s words. I also felt tired. Why? We had been engaged in spiritual warfare. Why didn’t I feel the pressure of it during the conference? Thank goodness so many of you were praying for us as we ministered to the ladies at the Freedom House. God was meeting all of our needs, including physical strength.

So when did the distractions start? When did the tapes start playing for me? I started when I was alone and away from the prayer covering of our faithful prayer warriors and the Mighty Movement of the Holy Spirit during the actual conference.

Then the tapes started to play. How did you really sound? I think you messed up on your part in several of the numbers. Why did you decide to sing that song? Your solo wasn’t very strong. Aren’t you getting a little old to be singing with this group? Did you even make an impact on those women?

What can we do when Satan starts those tapes and causes all kinds of distractions? (He seems to know where that silly rewind button is, doesn’t he?) First, take it to the Lord and ask Him to permanently destroy those tapes. Then go see your girlfriend, you know the one that always has your back. Your personal pray warrior. Together you can encourage one another. Recognize where those lies have come from. Go boldly before the Throne together. You can counter the attacks with prayer.

It will get easier to recognize Satan’s paralyzing voice. Anytime you hear Jesus calling you the “Beloved”, Satan will be standing in the shadows just waiting to distract you. You are a child of God. Step into the Light and tell Satan who you work for. Call out the name of Jesus and make him tremble.

Thanks for listening. Should I pour you another glass of ice tea?

The Ice Tea Lady
Debbie Fritz