Your Mind Is Under Attack

Speaker A00:00:31

Hey, friend, can I tell you something hard but true? Satan doesn't need to destroy you if he can simply distract you.Because so many of us imagine spiritual warfare as these storms and this fire and these obvious attacks. But today's warfare looks a lot quieter. It's smaller, and it's such more subtle. For many of us, it looks like a notification, that vibration.Just a moment of. Let me just check and see what's going on. It looks like I'll spend five minutes scrolling. That somehow steals an entire evening.The enemy of your soul doesn't have to steal your salvation if he can solely steal your focus. If he can steal your peace, hey, he can steal your purpose and ultimately steal your intimacy with God. And dare I say something?Bold distractions become the most successful spiritual attack on the modern Christian soul. And today we're going to expose it. We're going to break it. And by God's grace, we're going to start walking free from it. When the world falls apart.I stand firm. Though the culture shifts like sand. Your truth, O Lord, is where I choose to stand. Truth unveiled. Truth unveiled. Let me ask you something honest.Have you noticed how it's harder to think deeply anymore? It's hard to pray without drifting away. It's hard to read your Bible without checking your phone. You're not alone in that.Today's culture runs at a pace the human soul has never was designed to carry. Here's some real moments people from our own community have shared with me. A dad told me this, said Ralph.I catch myself scrolling during bedtime stories. I'm there, Ralph, but I'm not present with my children. Young woman said, my prayer time feels like a battle with my own mind. Ralph.I can't stop thinking about my phone in the other room. And a teenager said this. I don't even enjoy anything anymore. It all feels dull unless a screen is telling me what to feel. I read that.It broke my heart. And maybe you're feeling this too. You're tired, but you're not actually doing anything meaningful. You're entertained, but you're not being fulfilled.You're connected, but you're not known. You're busy, but you're emotionally exhausted. Does that resonate with you today? See, this is the tension.Culture is shaping us to crave the instant and reject the eternal. Let me share two pieces of data that should wake us up. Here's fact number one. When I read this one, I thought, wait a minute. Is this even possible?The average person touches their phone 50 to 200 times a day. I read one that said 2600 times a day. I didn't put that in the show intentionally, but that's what I read 2600 times. Think about that.Even 50 times a day. And every one of those is a micro moment of distraction, that micro moment of impulse, that micro moment of spiritual drift. Ready for this one?Fact number two. MRI studies, studies of the brain show that heavy use of social media and constant notifications can shrink the part of your brain responsible for.Hear this. For focus, for judgment, and self control. All from these distractions.In other words, what they're saying is your brain is being trained to crave the fast and reject the slow. Why do you think we keep scrolling it Quick, quick, quick, quick, quick. Because to chase the thru, we avoid the still.And to seek the temporary, we neglect the eternal. So let me ask you this. Is it possible the enemy has found a way to weaponize distraction against the people of God?I know that's a bold statement, but think about what I'm saying today. Is it possibly that we are being discipled more by our phones than by the Holy Spirit?I want to tell you right now, friend, this is not just a mental battle. It's a spiritual one. Let me tell you something from my own life. Something real, something wrong.There was a season when my phone was the first thing I touched in the morning and the last thing I saw at night. And if I could see you through the TV screen or if I could listen to you, I could see you as you're not. You're probably nodding your head right now.You're like, ralph, yeah, that's me too. First thing, last thing. And for me, it wasn't because I want a distraction, but my brain had been trained to crave it.One morning, as I sat scrolling through nothing that mattered, I felt the Holy Spirit whisper something to me, said, ralph, dude, you're drinking from the wrong well. And I'll tell you what. Like, it wasn't this loud, booming voice from heaven, but I just started to feel this in my soul.And it hit me so hard that I had to put my phone down. Because I realized it wasn't just a distraction issue. It was a devotion issue. I wasn't turning to my phone for entertainment. I could excuse that.I was turning to it for comfort. I was turning to it for escape. I was turning to it for connection. I was turning to it for numbness. Fancy old word.I was turning to into a broken cistern. And that leads us right into scripture. Let's look at Romans 12:2. I call this the war for your mind. That's what it says.Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Give you a little historical context here. Paul is writing to believers surrounded by room and entertainment. Just picture this with you.Pleasure, culture, idols, all kinds of distractions. That's who Paul was writing to. And if you think about it, it parallels with real life today.And see, you don't conform by choosing it, you conform by not noticing it. The pattern of this world now arrives through your screen. Think about that for a second.We allow it into our homes, we allow it into every ounce of our lives. And all of us at times in our life seek that renewal. But it can't happen if distraction is discipling you. So here's a bold question.And I've had to ask myself this same question. What is shaping your mind more, your phone or your father? Yeah, that one hurts, doesn't it? This can be one of those shows today.It's going to step on some toes because it's stepping on my toes. Second question. Where does your attention naturally drift when you're tired? Does it go that phone? Do you want to grab that phone? You want to check?I might have missed a notification. Let's go to Jeremiah, chapter 2, verse 13. I want to get into these broken cisterns. I feel like Raph, what are you talking about, cisterns?I don't know what a cistern is. Jeremiah 2:13. My people have dug their own cisterns. Broken cisterns that cannot hold water. Let me give you some historical context here.Israel turned to man made solutions instead of God. That's what we're really talking about here. Israel turned to solutions that promised satisfaction, but only delivered emptiness.Does that sound familiar? Think about a mother scrolling in the grocery line because silence feels awkward.How many times have you been in a grocery line and you're just waiting? But you can't just wait. You can't just take in what's around. You got to grab that phone and start looking through it. Guilty.A college student checking notifications because he feels lonely but doesn't want to admit it. In his mind, he's feeling lonely. What does he do? Oh, I gotta go see what's going on with my phone.A married couple both sitting on the couch, scrolling separately instead of talking. At least they're in the same room. Right, but are they? They're not even talking.And a believer who numbs stress with endless YouTube instead of prayer. So Let me ask you, where have you traded living water for digital comfort? Again, that one hurts. And let me be a little bit more bold.What broken cisterns have been quietly shaping your days in your life. Let's look at the book of Ecclesiastes, chapter 2, verse 11. Again, that's Ecclesiastes 2:11.I repeat these because I want you to go back after the show and get into your Bible and read this. I want you to verify what I'm saying to you. But again, Ecclesiastes 2:11. So I considered all I had done and it was meaningless.A chasing after the wind. Let me give you some context here. Solomon had everything, Pleasure, wealth, entertainment. But what is he saying here? He was still empty.He was still chasing the wind. Do you ever feel like you're chasing the wind? Think about those. Binge watching a television show that you don't even enjoy. I hate this show.But we're still binging it. Now, most people. I caught myself doing this last night. We're watching a show on Netflix.I got my phone in my hand, I'm trying to watch the tv and I'm scrolling on my phone at the same time. I'm not paying attention to that. Why do I have it even playing? And I found myself. You know, it's like you're in the movie theater.You're checking your phone during a movie because the movie isn't moving fast enough. Like a thriller movie, an action packed movie. But you're still on your phone because it's just not fast enough. Even with that.And how many of us are watching strangers live their life instead of living our own lives? Ask yourself this. How much of your life is spent chasing wind? Are you feeling empty? Are you filling your time or fulfilling your purpose?Let's look at Galatians, chapter 5, verses 16 and 17. Again, Galatians 5, 16 and 17. Walk by the spirit and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh. Hey, now we're getting right to it, aren't we?The flesh wants a dopamine hit. I gotta have that dopamine. I want it. I want it, I want it. That's what your flesh is telling you. But the spirit wants discipline. See the conflict?The flesh wants comfort. The spirit wants formation. The flesh wants escape. The spirit wants endurance. So let me ask you right now, which voice are you feeding? Which voice?Flesh, spirit culture, biblical truth. Are you living, spirit led or impulse led? Guilty. So now I want to share some truths with you.Because these next truths are the backbone of everything. We're talking about today. These aren't just ideas. These aren't just theories.These are the spiritual laws that govern what has happened inside your mind, your habits, your emotions, your family and your walk with God. Let's walk through them slowly, intentionally and honestly. Truth number one, your attention is spiritual territory.A lot of people are going to argue with me on this one. But your attention is not neutral. It's not random. It's not insignificant. Your attention is where your soul looks. It's where your desires point.It's where your affections land. It's where your worship goes. And a distracted believer is not an evil believer, but they are a powerless believer. If you're distracted.I'm not saying you're evil, but you're powerless. Let me give you real moments. I've seen. I've witnessed this myself. A husband sitting at dinner with his wife and kids.I see this all the time when I go out to eat. Not present, not listening, just scrolling. Yes, the husband loves them deeply. But the attention is fragmented and the family feels it.A young woman wanting to grow spiritually. But every time she opens the Bible, her mind is so overstimulated that she reads the same verse three times and it doesn't land man, I've been there.And she thinks she's failing. She's not failing. Her attention has been trained to reject stillness. One of my favorite things that the Bible says is be still and know I am God.Why do you think that's there? Be still. And a man told me recently this, hey, Ralph, I don't hear God like I used to. And honestly, when he said that, I didn't know what to say.And when we talked, I realized the issue wasn't that God stopped speaking to him. It's that his life became so loud that there was no space left for God to whisper. A noisy life needs no room for divine direction.And here's the spiritual truth we've got to face. Honestly, what you give your attention to will ultimately shape your spiritual condition.I want to say that again because you've got to hear that what you give your attention to will ultimately shape your spiritual condition. Not your dreams, not your intentions, not your good desires, your attention. Let's look at spiritual truth number two.The enemy uses distraction as spiritual warfare. I started off the episode with that. If the enemy can distract you, he doesn't need to destroy you.See, a lot of people think the enemy's coming to destroy me. No, he doesn't have to. Always got to do is distract you.He doesn't need to attack your family if he can steal your presence with your family when you're sitting right there in the same room with them. He doesn't need to break your faith if he can fill your life with noise so that faith slowly dries up.He doesn't need to tempt you into sin if he can tempt you into scrolling. And I know that's strong. But distraction is subtle. Distraction is painless. It's culturally praised. We shout it from the rooftops.Distraction, distraction. It's socially rewarded. What does it look like? It looks like this. One more video. Just one more.I'm going to watch it and then I'm going to move on to something else. Go spend some time with my wife and kids. Or it sounds like this. Let me respond quickly. Just take a minute.I'm going to respond right quick and then I'll go into the next thing. How about this one? I'll check that real fast. How many times have you said that? I'll check that real fast. I've done that myself. Real fast.Turns into two hours. Or maybe this one. Just five more minutes. I remember when my kids were young, I would say to the boys, pick up your toys.Oh, just five more minutes, dad. Just five more minutes, dad. How many times are we doing that? Those five more minutes? Often. Holy moments that will never return.Let me give you another real observation. I met a young dad not too long ago. He broke down. Tell me this. He said, ralph, My daughter whispered, daddy, can you look at me instead of your phone?And he said, ralph, that shattered me. I get it. He wasn't a bad dad. He's a great dad. He would have been the prize winning dad, the trophy winning dad. But guess what? He was.He was distracted. Dad and his kids saw it. And see, the promised distraction doesn't feel sinful, but it produces spiritual starvation. Because here's the truth.The devil doesn't want you to just fail. He wants you to be unfocused. Why? Because the unfocused believer stops hearing God. That's the key. See, the devil, all he's got to do is distract you.He's got to take you away from that subtle, quiet voice of God speaking to your heart. And when you become an unfocused believer, you stop hearing God. You stop seeing clearly. You stop praying deeply. You start loving intentionally.All of it done with focus. Not a direct attack, a subtle attack. Let's look at truth number three. Instant gratification slowly erodes spiritual strength. This one is huge.I probably should have put a first. We live in a culture of instant gratification. Look around. It's just all about 20 seconds. I'm satisfied. Here's the problem. I mentioned the MRI thing.Instant gratification rewires your brain to expect everything to feel good. Now, right now, immediately, effortlessly. I want this pain to go away. I want the endorphins to hit. I want that dopamine hit. I want it right now.But the kingdom of God doesn't work like Uber eats, my friends. You can't push a button and receive spiritual maturity on demand. It doesn't work that way. Give you some real life examples.A Christian who gets bored in 30 seconds when reading scripture because their mind is used to dopamine spikes every two seconds. Our mind is doing this to us. It's our flesh. A teenager who prays for 60 seconds and feels like nothing happened.I just prayed I did it for 60 seconds. I put a whole minute into this. That's three times my usual attention span. But nothing happened.Because prayer doesn't move fast enough for that person. Or a believer who opens a devotional and then instinctively reaches for their phone because silence feels foreign.See, that instant gratification that we're all hooked into, that we're all, we dare say addicted to, it weakens your patience because you stop enduring. You need that instant hit right away. It sabotages discipline because you stop persisting. Let me tell you something right now.Take a little rant here for a second. You know what the truth about it is? The Christian life is about persistence. It's about discipleship. It's about discipline.It's about moving at a very slow pace. And that instant gratification sabotages that. It destroys depth. You stop digging because you just scraped the surface.Well, let me jump into the Bible. I'm just going to take five minutes. I'm going to read the Bible. If you're only taking 5 minutes to read the Bible, you're not reading it enough.And ultimately, instant gratification kills your intimacy with God because you stop lingering, you stop listening for his ever quite whispered. Last few shows I've talked about that whisper of God. We've actually released some great music about the whisper of God.I'm encourage you to check it out. You can see how to do that in the show notes. But that instant gratification is killing your intimacy with God.And you can't form a relationship with God of the universe at the speed of Instagram. God doesn't work like that. And you're never going to Experience deep joy with a mind that only knows shallow stimulation.And dare I say something bold. Instant gratification creates spiritual anemia. Yeah, you're alive, but you're not strong. Of course you're shaped. You're saved.I'm not saying you're not saved, but you're not steadfast. You're not connected to God. You're not deeply connected to God. It's not sin that's weakening many believers. It's speed.Let's look at truth number four. God designed spiritual growth to be slow, intentional and steady. I want to say something right now that might just set you free today.You're never going to grow in the kingdom by rushing. You grow by remaining. You grow by that repetition, that steadfastness, that consistency. Remaining in prayer incessantly.Praying, praying every minute, praying every day. You remain in scripture, you remain in patience. You remain in trust. God grows oak trees. You ever look at an oak tree?Big, massive base to oak trees, branches everywhere. That's what God grows. God doesn't grow microwaved faith. So we've all gotten accustomed to. Put it in a microwave for 20 seconds and it's ready.That's not the way God works. And think about the tree to the microwave. That tree has a root system. It's well established.Just consider that for a second because that's what we're really talking about today. Here's some real examples of slow growth faith.I picture a mother who prays scripture over her family every morning, even when she feels nothing and she sees no immediate results. Yeah, that's slow growth. That's kingdom growth.Or how about a grandfather who reads one psalm a day and lets it shape his soul over months and honestly, over years? Yeah, that's slow growth, but that's kingdom growth. How about a believer who takes five minutes of silence before they start their day?Imagine doing that. Imagine the first thing you do when you get up, you take five minutes and just sit in silence.It's going to be tough because your brain's going to be screaming for stimulation. You're going to want that right away. You're going to rap for your phone. You're going to click that TV on.You're going to do all those things because that's what the brain is telling you. But just try that five minutes. Yes, that's slow growth, but what is that? That's formation.As I said a few minutes ago, you're never going to microwave spiritual maturity. You're never going to rush communion with God. And you absolutely cannot fast Forward. Transformation. Let's talk about the fruits of the spirit.Because every fruit of the spirit requires time. Love requires time. Joy requires time. Peace doesn't happen automatically. Patience. That's the definition of time. Kindness happens over time.Goodness, Faithfulness, Gentleness, Self control. None of these are delivered by Amazon Prime. They're grown in the soil of consistent surrender. Let's look at truth number five.And I want this one to give you hope. Your brain can be rebuilt, but only if your habits change. There is hope here. You're not stuck. You're not broken. You're not ruined.You're not too far gone. Your brain can rebuild the pathways that have been broken down. It can form new connections. I'm sure the scientists would have a name for that.I just don't know what that is. It can strengthen new habits. It can recover from years of overstimulation. Let me dare say something right now.We've all lived in years of overstimulation. And this is a funny thing. This is where science and scripture actually agree. What you repeat, you become.I'm going to say it again because it's kind of funny to say it, but what you repeat, you become. What you repeat, you become. What you repeat, you become. That's something science tells us and scripture agrees. Now, the Bible calls this renewal.Neuroscience calls it a fancy word, neuroplasticity. I don't really care about that because I like renewal better. Let me give you some examples of this.A man in our community deleted a handful of apps and committed to scripture first thing in the morning. Said, ralph, I'm done with these apps. What I'm going to do. And he also took the Bible app and got rid of that and got an old fancy paper Bible.I don't know too many people actually have those anymore, to be blunt. Within three weeks, he said, he said, ralph, my mind feels clearer than it has in years. What did he do? Consistency. He put that first.He avoided the distraction. He avoided the noise. Let's look at a teenage girl. She stopped taking her phone to bed and started journaling her prayers.In a couple weeks, she told her parents, I feel peace again. I love what a married couple did. They instituted what they called a no phone dinners. Man, I love this one.And within days, they noticed their conversations went deeper than they had in months and months. Just by having a no phone dinners. I've said it on the show before. It frustrates me when I go out to dinner and I see a couple.You can tell they love each other, but man, they are not paying each other a bit of attention, why bother? Go back home, heat up a microwave meal and avoid each other. And a pastor. I know, my own pastor began taking silent walks with God every morning.Now, he used to be one that would listen to podcasts. He had his earbuds in, but for him, no earbuds, no podcasts, just God alone. You know what he said to me in two weeks?He said, ralph, I got my joy back. Your brain is not your enemy. Your brain is a tool that God created that can be renewed by the spirit and reshaped by your habits. That's the key.If you change your inputs, God will change your outcomes. Now, I want to share with you what I've called the REST model framework. Rest. This is part of the message where the truth really meets practice.Because listen, I've laid out a lot of stuff that feels gloom and doom. And what am I going to do, Ralph? But let's talk about conviction becoming action, where understanding becomes transformation. This is the REST model.It's not just information. It's a reset. It's a blueprint. I'll call it a spiritual detox. It's a way of living in a world that pulls us away from the presence of God.Let's walk through it slowly and practically. Let's start with the R. Remember I said rest. R, E, S, T, R is recognize the pattern. Before you can change anything, you gotta see it.You can't find an enemy you refuse to acknowledge. Think about that for a second. Acknowledge. So your first step is about raising spiritual awareness in your everyday life.Okay, Ralph, that sounds good. Sounds like a lot of hollow words, Ralph, but how do you do it? Number one thing, notice the impulse. I started doing this yesterday.That tiny twitch, that urge to check your phone as I'm recording this. I've had that urge several times. Reach over and grab my phone. Just that one quick look. When you notice that impulse, Pause.Pay attention to that moment. Second thing, notice the reach. Because here's a funny thing. Your hand actually moves before your brain even thinks.That's how rewired our brains have gotten. So interrupt that moment. Just stop and breathe. When you start to make your hand going away, just stop and breathe. Center yourself for a second.Number three, Notice the moment. Ask yourself, what was I feeling right now before I reached for my phone number? We have to acknowledge what this is.What were you feeling before you reached for the phone? Were you feeling bored? Oh, I'm not getting stimulated enough. There's all kinds of stuff going on around me. I gotta get that phone. I need that hit.Maybe you were anxious. Something in your mind, your fear, anxiety was taken over. What do you do? You grab the phone. Hey, maybe right now you're in a season of loneliness.I've been there. That phone is not the answer, my friend. It kind of feels like it, doesn't it? Maybe you're avoiding something. You got a big decision you got to make.You got a struggle that you got to overcome. Maybe you've got an addiction you got to fight. Sure much a lot easier to grab that phone and just ignore it.Or maybe for so many of us, we're just uncomfortable. We don't know what it is, we just don't feel it. Grab that phone. Next thing I want to tell you to do is name the trigger.When I say name it, say it out loud. I reached for my phone because I felt anxious. I reached for distraction because I felt overwhelmed. I reached for stimulation because I felt lonely.Because when you name the trigger, it breaks the power of the trigger. Give you a real life example. Woman told me every time I felt stressed, my thumb would automatically open. Instagram, Ralph.I didn't even think about it. It was a reflex. But once I started recognizing it, I realized I was using my phone to medicate my stress.Now, friend, I'm not saying this to shame you. This awareness isn't shame. This awareness is actually liberation. Because you can't heal what you refuse to notice.So that's the R. Let's move on to the E. Establish sacred boundaries. I'm going to call this protection for your soul. Now, this isn't legalism.A lot of people say, oh, want to talk about legalism? You must do this, you must not do that. No, it's liberation. This is your creating holy ground in a digital wilderness. You are in a digital wilderness.I'm sorry. Unless you're on some deserted island, which you're not hearing me or seeing me, if you're there, you are in a digital wilderness.It's all around you. And boundaries don't restrict your freedom, they create your freedom. Kind of a funny thing, isn't it?Let me give you some practical boundaries with real life examples. Number one thing I'm going to encourage you to do. Talked about this a few minutes ago. Try to institute those no phone mornings.Just decide, I'm not going to start the day in the world's noise. Start it with God's voice. Man in our community told me, said, Ralph, I've been leaving my phone in the other room until after prayer and Scripture.And he said, ralph, my anxiety dropped by half in one weak cuz he left his phone in the other room. Nothing. I'm encouraging you to do no phone prayer time. This one's hard because so many of us use that phone to get our prayers.I'm going to encourage you not to do that. Turn it off, turn it over, throw it in the other room, take it and and lob it at something. Because prayer deserves undivided attention.And if you're on your phone, you're not giving God full attention. You want God to give you full attention? Then give him full attention. For once, God deserves first place, not the distracted leftovers.If Christ showed up at your house, are you going to feed him what you had for dinner last night? Are you going to feed him leftovers or are you going to give him the best you've got?Well, guess what, my friend, if you are distracted, you're not giving Christ the best you got. Start there. Another one. I'm going to encourage you to do no phone dinner table. You got to make your home a sanctuary for connection and conversation.Family told me we used to eat together. With everyone scrolling, the wife grabbed a basket. She said, you know what? Phones go in the other room at dinner time in the basket.Was everybody happy about that? No, they all had that urge. I got to go check. Something could be happening, you know? She said. She said in just a couple days. They started talking.She said, ralph, it was amazing. We started laughing again. We're connecting again. Something as simple as stopping the scroll.Here's another thing I'm going to encourage you, especially husband and wives and partners. No phone bedroom. Your bedroom should be a sacred space for rest, for intimacy and peace.You don't have to be connected 24 hours a day, seven days a week, 365 days a year. I know if a couple removed all the screens from their bedroom, their TV, their iPad, their iPhone for 30 days.Husband called me and said, Ralph, by day 10, our marriage feels alive again just by taking the screens out. Another thing I'm going to encourage you to do is create some tech free pockets in your day. Maybe you're like, ralph, I got to have my tech.Dude, I get it. I'm a tech guy too. But I'm going to encourage you find some pockets in your day when you don't have tech. Maybe when you're driving.That's one of my pet peeves. I am so annoyed with people distracted driving. But put the phone in the backseat where you can't touch it and Pay attention to the road for once.You're going to kill somebody. Make that your tech free time. Maybe when you're on your walk like my pastor does, leave the earbuds at home.Yes, I'm talking bad about me because I'd love you to listen to my show while you're walking. But maybe it's better that you spend some time with God. Just you and him. How about when you're in the shower?Yes, There are people that take their phones in the shower. For five minutes. They're afraid they're going to miss something. How about the lunch break? Give you a little inside information here.We do a lot of YouTube videos. Guess what time is the best time to release a YouTube short? During lunch hour. Why? Because you know people are watching them.And if you can do those little pockets, they become holy moments in your life. These boundaries aren't walls to trap you. They're fences to protect you. Let's move on to S. Remember we said rest, so s seek slower rewards.This step's about replacing the cheap, fast, shallow rewards with meaningful ones that restore your soul. Remember I said this is a habit. This is a way to change the dynamic. You got to retrain your brain. Here's what they look like.Maybe every time you go to scroll, read scripture first. If you read for anything first, let it be truth. Let it be the Bible. Start carrying around a pocket Bible with you.You can buy them, they're available online. You can get them from Amazon. You can get them today, probably if you order it right now.You probably have one in three hours, depending upon where you're at. Focus on silence instead of stimulation. Sit with God. Here's a. Here's an idea. Every hour takes 60 seconds to just be quiet. Turn your distractions off.Go stand outside. Whatever works for you. Just give him 60 seconds an hour to help recenter your soul. As I said earlier, walk outside without earbuds.Nature has a way of resetting your nervous system. When I'm struggling with something, best thing I do is go out and walk around the pastures.If you don't know, I raise Black Angus cows here on the farm. A lot of times when I'm having a stressful day, and guess what? I got stressful days just like you.I go out there and just let nature take it out of the cows. I hear the mooing and I hear the little babies running around, and I just feel nature.And when I feel that it's reminded of the creation reminds me who the Creator is. And I can't Help but be an all of God. And have some real conversations instead of distraction.Talk to your spouse, talk to your kids, talk to your friend. Not in some hurry. Be present, be attentive and feel your emotions instead of escaping them.We talked about a little while ago when you feel that emotion. Pain isn't your enemy. We live in a culture right now that nobody wants pain. Pain has a purpose. Pain tells you something is wrong.Pain tells you something needs to change. Pain tells you something and a habit needs to change. Numbing it isn't helping you engage in some creative activities.Maybe you're one who likes to draw. Maybe you cook, Maybe you garden, Maybe you write. Maybe you play an instrument. Create something real instead of consuming something empty.And here's one that I'll throw at you right now. Serve someone intentionally. You want to find joy. Serving gives lasting joy that scrolling never will.A young man struggling with anxiety replaced evening TikTok Sessions with a 20 minute walk with his dog and scripture meditation. When he got back within two weeks, he felt calmer, he felt more grounded and he felt more connected to God.Slower rewards don't give those dopamine spikes. They give soul. And finally the T r e s t T is train the spirit daily. This is where everything comes together, my friends.Your spirit needs training, just like your body. I get up every morning and I exercise. Your spirit needs to be exercised as well. Just like your mind, just like your habits.And spiritual training doesn't happen by accident. You're not going to be a Buddhist and all of a sudden, bam, you're trained. It doesn't work like that.There are daily practices that rebuild what distraction has weakened. Number one thing. Number one thing. Prayer. Intentional conversation with God. Not rushed, not mechanical, not one of these ridiculous.I'm going to say this prayer because this is what I learned when I was in preschool. Stop doing that. Have a dialogue with God as a person that you respect and as a person that you can talk to one on one.You don't have to have some hoity toity prayers. Jesus talked about that. Don't pray like the apostle. Don't pray like those folks did. Don't pray like the Pharisees.Speak to God as your Father in heaven. Talk to him from your heart. Silence that. Silence the noise. That's the antidote. Turn down the world so you can turn up his voice. Get in the scripture.That's the renewing of your mind. Let it reshape your thinking. Worship. That's your sole face in God. You might say Ralph doesn't mean you need to go to church every day. No.Worship can be going out for a walk and dialoguing with God. God wants you to worship with him. God wants you to talk with Him. That's the kind of God we serve. A God that wants you to be connected to him.That's worship. And that worship restores your joy. You want to find joy? Start talking to God again. Celebrate that Sabbath. Because we all need that weekly rest.Just one day to stop, to breathe, to rest, to remember who God and who you are not. Yes. That one hurt, didn't it? You're not God. You need rest. And by all means, find community.Because the Bible says it time and time again, iron sharpens iron. Because one thing I've learned is you can't fight this digital temptation alone. You need brothers and sisters who walk with you.I've read this online. A small men's group decided that they would text each other every morning with one scripture and one prayer request. Just one.What they said was the group transformed their walk with Christ. And I'm going to tell you right now that daily spiritual training is not about perfection. It's about direction.It's about going in an intentional way, and it's about consistency. You're not going to drift into holiness, but you can walk into it intentionally. Just one small choice at a time. One boundary at a time.One surrendered moment at a time. Now, friend, before we walk into the practical steps, before we talk about changing schedules, habits and rhythms, I want to pause right now.I want to take a second to breathe. I want to let the Holy Spirit meet us right where we are. Because information alone is not going to save us.Those habits we talked about alone aren't going to heal us. Strategies alone won't free us. We need God. We need his presence. We need his touch.We need his power to break the chains distraction has built around our minds.So right now, whatever you're listening from your car, your kitchen, your office, your bedroom, let's come before God with open hands and honest hearts. All right, now, we've brought our hearts before God. Now that the soil of your soul has been softened, let's talk about living this out. Not someday.Not when life slows down. Not when things get easier. Today, this week, right now. In simple, practical steps. Because spiritual transformation doesn't happen in big moments.It happens in small, repeated, ordinary ones. Let's walk through the next steps together. Number one, create one sacred. No phone space in your home. Just one.So I'll tell you, do just one, not five. Not seven, just one.A place where peace lives, where presence lives, where your soul can breathe, as we talked about earlier, maybe for you, it's a dinner table where your kids actually see your eyes. Instead of the top of your head. Maybe for you, it's your bedroom so your mind can finally rest instead of scrolling until midnight.That blue light is not helping you sleep. My friends. Maybe in your car say, stop distracted driving so you can commute. Becomes a daily place to meet with God.Just pick one place and honor and protect it. And replace one instant habit with one spiritual practice. You want to really transform this. Instead of scrolling, go to Scripture.Instead of autoplaying that playlist, go to prayer. Instead of doom scrolling, go to worship. Instead of compulsion, go to connection. And instead of numbing, this one's going to sting a little bit.Start noticing that pain. Just one trade, one swap, one small obedience that can reshape your entire week. And I know I'm harping on this, but make your morning holy again.Before the phone, before the noise, before the notifications, before the world gets a single piece of you, give the first moments of your day to the One who gave you the day in the first place. It's not much to ask of the One who sustains us, the One who provides for us every day.You're going to be amazed at how quickly clarity returns when God has your mornings again. And as we talk about practical steps, we talk about new habits, we talk about fresh rhythms, there's something deeper happening right here.Something more than the screens, something more than the technology, something more than a distraction. Because this isn't just a battle for your focus. It's a battle for your heart. It's a battle for your direction. It's a battle for your devotion.And maybe right now you've realized you've been drifting like Ralph. You're right. I've been running from God.Maybe for you, you're not running from God, but you're just quietly drifting away from him, just ever so little by little. What's the enemy doing? He's distracting you. Scroll by scroll, hour by hour, minute by minute. But maybe right now, God is calling you home.Right now, right at this moment. So let's take a minute. Let's talk about the most important step that you can ever take. Friend. Right now.If you feel that tug in your heart, you feel that stirring, that pull, I want to tell you something right now. That's not me. I wish I could say it was me, but it's not me. That's the holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit is calling you. The Holy Spirit is drawing you.The Holy Spirit is inviting you back home again. And maybe you've never given your life to Jesus. Or maybe, just maybe, you've once walked close but life got loud and you wandered away.Today is your day. Right at this moment is your moment. If you want to give your life to Christ and recommit your heart to him, pray this with me right now.I just encourage you, pray right now, right where you are. Doesn't matter what you're doing. Jesus. I'm tired of living distracted. I'm tired of running on empty, Lord. I'm tired of chasing what doesn't fill me.So right now, I choose something. I choose to give you my heart, Lord. I choose to give you my mind. I choose to give you my attention. I give you everything.Please forgive me, renew me, save me, lead me, transform me from the inside out. I choose you today and I choose you again tomorrow. And I ask this in your name, Jesus. Amen.Well, friend, if you prayed that prayer, I want to say something to you. Welcome home. Welcome back. If you're new to us, welcome to the Kingdom of God. God loves you. God receives you. He's for you and he's with you.Now, before we close there, I know I went a little bit long today, but bear with me here. There was a lot to cover today. Let me speak one simple truth over you. You don't have to be ruled by distraction.You don't have to be enslaved by your impulses. You don't have to live scattered or numb. There's a promise here through Jesus, you can be whole again. I can recap this whole show in one sentence.Freedom begins when you choose formation over impulse and you surrender your mind to Jesus. How about we pray together. Lord, as we end this show today, seal this word in our hearts. Let it take root, let it bear fruit.Let it change the way we live. Let it change the way we think. And, Lord, let it change the way we love. We ask that you protect. Protect our attention.Guard our minds from the constant noise all around us. Fill our homes with peace and sanctuary, Lord, and draw us deeper into your presence every single moment of our lives.And we ask this in the mighty name of Jesus. Amen. Friend, your mind is a battlefield. But I want to assure you something. You're not fighting alone. Christ goes before you. Christ stands beside you.Christ strengthens you, and Christ renews you.And if you want some tools to help you and your family navigate this digital with wisdom and faith, I want to encourage you right now to join our free community and download our family digital wisdom guide at truthunveiledwithRalph.com/join that simple truthunveiledwithRalph.com/join let's walk this journey together. Let's renew our minds, let's reclaim our attention and let's choose Jesus over the noise.I truly love you friend, and I'll see you the next time on Truth Unveiled with Ralph. God bless you.