There are so many distractions in life. Is it any wonder we are so confused between right and wrong?

Take, for example, driving on a highway in a big city. You are supposed to concentrate on the road ahead of you, but big traffic signs lure you to a variety of exits that lead you to who knows where. Is it any wonder we often take the wrong turn, mistakes that lead to hours of delay?

Billboards also attract our attention with their moving advertisements, and if we aren't careful we could very well end up in a ditch. And then there are the drivers around us, drivers who cut us off, who race at unbelievable speeds, who taunt us to join them.

What can you do in such distracting circumstances?

Even in smaller cities, distractions are everywhere. Last summer, while walking near the port of my hometown, everybody's attention was riveted on an ambulance and a fire truck where firemen were trying to reach the second floor of a hotel room to rescue someone needing medical help.

Even those driving vehicles were so distracted that they didn't even hear the noise of the lock siren, announcing that the bridge over the canal would soon be drawn for an approaching boat. Not even the car that was next to enter the bridge!

This poor driver didn't even know what happened to him. Suddenly, as if out of nowhere, the arms of the safety gates on both sides of the road descended-on top of his car! One from the left, and one from the right! Imagine the dents and scratches to his car's paint!

The driver was stopped in his tracks, confused, his eyes still glued to the fire truck. Then he turned around and discovered his dilemma: his car was stuck halfway onto a bridge that was about to lift!

The wrong kind of distractions can be costly. They can rob you of your sleep at night, and even cause your demise for eternity! The only way out of this dilemma is to know where to put your focus in all things!

"Keep your eyes on Jesus, who both began and finished this race we're in. Study how he did it. Because he never lost sight of where he was headed - that exhilarating finish in and with God - he could put up with anything along the way: cross, shame, whatever. And now he's there, in the place of honor, right alongside God. When you find yourselves flagging in your faith, go over that story again, item by item, that long litany of hostility he plowed through. That will shoot adrenaline into your souls!" (Heb 12:2-3 The Message)

Only when we focus on Him can we avoid fear, only then can we avoid the "snares of death". Only then can we enjoy inner peace.

"The fear of the Lord is a fountain of life, turning a man from the snares of death." (Prov 14:27 NIV)

"Through love and faithfulness sin is atoned for; through the fear of the Lord a man avoids evil." (Prov 16:6 NIV)

"Hey look at that parachute in the air!"

"Watch where you are heading, my friend!"

P. S. The port authorities quickly raised the safety gates and directed the driver to back away safely from the bridge. The bridge was able to lift in time for the boat to pass. As far as we could tell, the only compensation for the damage to the driver's car was a lovely little traffic ticket …

Rob Chaffart