Here's the next installment in our Immeasurably More blog series.

BY MEGAN HOWARD

There is a funny saying on social media these days, “Not today, Satan, not today!” It always makes me giggle when I see my favorite blogger or comedian on Instagram explain an unfortunate incident that has happened to them, and that is their common response. For example, I watched a popular social media star talk about her exhausting trip to Target on a bad day. At the end of her mundane shopping spree someone tried to cut her in the check-out line. She wanted to yell at the lady who cut but held back and knew she should not. She got into her car and turned to her phone to voice her frustrations. She said jokingly, “I will not let you win, Satan. I will be a mighty fine Christian and not yell at the nasty woman who cut. Not today, Satan, not today!”

And do you know why I hear this phrase all the time? Because of all the time I spend on social media. It is my biggest distraction when it comes to serving the Lord and living my life in his light. I am constantly checking my phone. It’s becoming a problem…

You see, the devil is in the distraction. I’m not saying this as a euphemism. I am referring to the actual devil, distracting us from our sole purpose to please our Heavenly Father. TV, hobbies, jobs, sports, social media (ya, Instagram, I’m looking at you!) are starving to be the light of our lives, and I am devouring them. However, Jesus is the light of the world. This I know, but I still do not practice putting him first every day. Why? Because I am serving different idols. And frankly, it’s just exhausting! And yet, are my cravings ever fulfilled? Nope, never. When are they fulfilled for me? When I spend my time with God, alone in his word.

Why am I trying so hard? To have a picture perfect life? To impress my friends and family? To please everyone? To check all my boxes? Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes.

What should be I trying harder to do? To be closer to God and love his people. That is the only answer.

I am a pleaser and an achiever. I like to fancy myself a rebel, but deep down I’m a rule follower. How can I possibly fall into all of these categories? Because I am trying too hard. I am not saying you have to choose one personality trait; you can have many attributes. But why do I even want to fancy myself a rebel? What am I trying to prove? Is it perhaps because I want to fit the mold of every type of person out there? To please everyone? Yes, I think so. But there is only ONE I should be aiming to please.

Comparison is the thief of joy, and all of these distractions steal my joy. But how can we not compare in today’s age? We must focus on God and his love for us and the warmth and happiness he gives us.

In Zephaniah 3:17, the Bible reminds us, “The Lord your God is with you, the Mighty Warrior who saves. He takes great delight in you. He will quiet you with his love. He rejoices over you with singing.”

So no matter what our distraction is, let us all give up the performance, the pretending, and the striving for more. Let God in, as the Mighty Warrior he is. My prayer is that we can rest and in that find our renewal, the theme of our spring. Let us rest in God’s love. We can stop trying and striving for more, because we are enough. It will be freeing. It won’t happen overnight. We will have to take it day by day. Moment by moment.

So humor me and roleplay with me for a second… pretend I’m a spokesperson in a commercial using a used car salesman’s voice: “Do you find yourself without joy, passion, dreams, true happiness? Do you want it back? JESUS IS THE WAY” There is also a bright, bold, neon sign flashing on the screen that reads JESUS IS FREE! FREE FREE FREE!

So the next time I am tempted to scroll Instagram, finish that Netflix series, or shop endlessly on my phone, instead of spending some quiet time with the Lord, I will have one thing to say in the same salesmen voice, “NOT TODAY, SATAN, NOT TODAY!”