Undistracted

Today I was reading in Numbers, and got to chapter six which talks about the Nazirite Laws:

“Speak to the Israelites and say to them: ‘If a man or woman wants to make a special vow, a vow of dedication to the Lord as a Nazirite, they must abstain from wine and other fermented drink and must not drink vinegar made from wine or other fermented drink. They must not drink grape juice or eat grapes or raisins. As long as they remain under their Nazirite vow, they must not eat anything that comes from the grapevine, not even the seeds or skins. During the entire period of their Nazirite vow, no razor may be used on their head. They must be holy until the period of their dedication to the Lord is over; they must let their hair grow long. Throughout the period of their dedication to the Lord, the Nazirite must not go near a dead body. Even if their own father or mother or brother or sister dies, they must not make themselves ceremonially unclean on account of them, because the symbol of their dedication to God is on their head. Throughout the period of their dedication, they are consecrated to the Lord."

Numbers 6: 2-8

And it got me thinking: these are relatively strict rules for a person to follow simply for the sake of the title "Nazarite" - so why do it? Rules so strict that Scripture goes on to say, not only can you not go near your family member if they die, but if so much as someone falls dead beside you, you need to shave your head, cleanse yourself, and start over with your vow. These were voluntary vows that could last years to a lifetime, and for something seemingly so random to cause you to start over - we can't help but ask why?

In Hebrew, Nazir means "to consecrate", stemming from the Hebrew root word "nazar" which means "to separate". People voluntarily setting themselves apart for the Lord, simply for the sake of focusing more on Him.

I began to wonder, "surely there must be some kind of special blessing for people willing to take on such a tedious vow?" Blessings must abound, and miracles take place, for us to consider giving up earthly pleasures for the sake of focusing on the King, but the more I read about it, the more I saw that the "blessing" they received was simply being able to focus on the Lord. To not have earthly distracts take away from the holiness that was right before them. They had present and fleshly reminders, every single day, that they were called to be set apart for a greater purpose: the King of Kings and Lord of Lords.

If you are wondering, no this is not my announcement that I am taking a "nazirite vow", but it is me challenging both myself and you: if thousands of years ago, people still felt the need to get unplugged and undistracted so that they can focus on the Lord - where do you think that leaves us?

We can get beautiful or tragic news every single second of every single day, and hold it in the palm of our hands, and still ask ourselves why are we anxious? Why does the Lord seem far? Why do I wish I simply had more time on my hands to give to Him?

Because we are distracted.

So here's my challenge to you: get undistracted.

Whatever that is for you, whatever that looks like, take one speck of the noise and turn it off - and then, turn it over to Him.

See the simple and beautiful blessings that can arise when we surrender ourselves to the Lord.

Here's to getting undistracted....

- Emma

"Be fearless in pursuit of what sets your soul on fire."