“I’ve got this, I’ve got this! I don’t have a problem; I am not hooked! I can quit anytime I want to! Besides that, I have a purpose to fulfill in my life for God; I won’t let anything stand in its way!”

Reality set in March 13, 2019 – the day Facebook experienced a widespread outage. It was a total blackout without any warning to its readers.  I freaked out. “What am I going to do, what am I going to do? I was right in the middle of seeing Susie’s 100 pictures of her new grandbaby. Help me, help me; I need a fix!”   

Okay, Okay, maybe I did exaggerate a little on my reactions to the Facebook blackout. However, when the outage occurred, an article I had recently read immediately popped into my mind, entitled: There Are Many Addictions: Could You Be Hooked?

According to the article, an addiction is:

anything that alters your mood

becomes something you can’t live without

affects your brain and causes you to lose focus.

(webmd.com)

Obviously, the most common addictions we may think of are drugs and alcohol. But, take a look at what the article referred to as “not your usual addictions:”

·      Smartphones

·      Caffeine

·      Chocolate and Other Sweets

·      Excessive Exercise

·      Shopping

·      Plastic Surgery

·      Tanning

·      Social Media

Ummmm. Was I addicted to facebook?  I thought I had it under control, but maybe I was deceiving myself.

I finally had to admit that I was on the road to becoming hooked with “excessive scrolling.” It was, indeed, starting to affect my brain and causing me to lose focus on what I believe God has called me to do during this season of my life: writing devotions, blogs and yes, even a book. Those responsibilities do require a lot of time that I must spend at my computer, but far too often, I was making a pit stop on facebook before buckling down to write.

In essence I was derailing God’s PURPOSE for my life by neglecting my gift of writing as I scrolled way toooo long at a time.  

1 Timothy 4:14-15 says: Do not neglect your gift, which was given you through prophecy when the body of elders laid their hands on you. Be diligent in these matters; give yourself wholly to them, so that everyone may see your progress.(NIV)

This exhortation was given by Paul to Timothy. It appears as though whatever gift was given to Timothy, he was responsible for using it in the Lord’s service wholly. According to the dictionary, wholly means to the exclusion of other things. 

What was true with Timothy’s miraculous gift is also true for us today. May we take notice of the talents, gifts, abilities and opportunities which God has given to each us and not allow anything to derail them for the Lord’s service.

That is where the PURPOSE for our life begins!

Personal Reflections

1.     What do you believe is God’s purpose for you during this season of your life?

2.     From the list of “not your usual addictions,” do you see one or more that you are spending excessive time doing?

3.     How is this affecting you in regards to fulfilling God’s purpose for your life?

Goal Setting and Sharing

List 3 goals that you would like to accomplish at home, work, with family, etc. that will allow you to live out your purpose in regards to what God has called you to do.

Martha Bush