“This Is My Beloved Son . . . Hear Him!”

While he was still speaking, behold, a bright cloud overshadowed them; and suddenly a voice came out of the cloud, saying, “This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased. Hear Him!” (Matthew 17:5)

Peter and the other disciples were continually disoriented to God. While Jesus was concerned about one thing, it seems that the disciples were always distracted by something else. In order to help his three closest_disciples better focus on His imminent sacrifice on the cross, Jesus took them up to the Mount of Transfiguration. There, Jesus was transfigured into a glorious state and was joined by Moses and Elijah, two of history’s mightiest men of God. The disciples, however, were asleep! At one of the most profound moments in history, the disciples were more interested in sleep than they were in praying with the Son of God.

When the disciples awakened, they became distracted again. This time, Peter announced his plans to build three tabernacles. The disciples were more concerned with what they could do for God than the incredible work of redemption God was about to accomplish through His Son. Finally, God removed everything from the disciples’ sight but Jesus. “This is My Beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased. Hear Him!”

It is so easy to become spiritually distracted. Do you find yourself focusing on everything else but Christ and the work He is doing around you? Are you so eager to “get to the work” that you have not yet clearly heard what is on God’s heart? Does the Father need to remove from your life those things that are proving to be a distraction to you? Do you need to refocus on Jesus?

From Experiencing God
by Henry and Richard Blackaby

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INTROSPECTION: There could be a lot of distractions from Christ that can come our way. However, I think all this boils down to a distraction about self. We choose our paths instead of going to His desired way. In my life, I have taken a lot of detours. From this experience, I learned that detours take you nowhere, nowhere but in the wilderness. May we who have strayed finds the right path again.