If you’ve ever seen a Superman movie or read a Superman comic book (or graphic novel, as they like to call them these days), then you know that Superman has tremendous strength and power. He is invincible. But there is one thing that can neutralize his power – kryptonite. When kryptonite is placed before Superman, he becomes weak and can be easily defeated.
By the grace of God, believers have been given the power to live victoriously against the attacks of our enemy, the devil. Through our salvation in Jesus Christ, sin has no hold on us. The presence of God in our lives makes us more than conquerors (Romans 8:37). In a sense, the presence of God makes us spiritually invincible. But, if we allow the presence of God to be taken from us or if we move away from His presence, we become vulnerable. Without God’s presence, we are in a weakened state and we our enemy can have an advantage over us.
Cain, the son of Adam and Eve, knew this. When he was driven from the land, he knew he would no longer have the protection of God’s presence and could be killed by anyone who found him (Genesis 4:14). Moses knew how important God’s presence was to the Israelites and to himself. He felt it was so important that He told God that they did not want to go anywhere if God’s presence was not with them (Exodus 33:14-15).
So, what can move us way from God’s presence and make us vulnerable to the attacks of the enemy? What is our spiritual kryptonite? I believe it is distraction. Distraction can cause us to spend less time in God’s Word. It can pull us in all sorts of directions and cause us to spend little or no time seeking God’s presence in our lives. Distraction can allow the presence of God to be taken from us.
Distraction comes in many forms. It can be busyness stemming from work or projects. It can be money concerns. It can be sports, entertainment, and the internet. Now, these things are not necessarily bad things and there is certainly nothing wrong with giving some time to them. But, when they pull us away from seeking God’s presence, they are spiritual kryptonite.
We need to keep ourselves strong and able to stand form against the enemies attempts to defeat us. Just as Superman’s enemies know that kryptonite makes him weak, our enemy knows that distraction weaken us. We need to neutralize the effects of the kryptonite of distraction. We can do that by making sure that we stay in God’s Word and consistently spend time in His presence. When we draw near to God, when we actively seek His presence, He will draw near to us. And when God is near us, when we have His presence in our lives, we can resist the devil and he will flee (James 4:7-8).
A Worshiper's Journal 