God knows that I am frail and distractible, and so he treats me gently and compassionately (Psalm 103:13-14). Not so the world, it just sees easy prey. As a limited and fallen thing, I’m a sitting duck for distraction, anxiety, and despair. All of them can easily catch and devour my attention on a daily basis.

Certainly, I can learn to better avoid the traps, but all the forces of sin, the world, and the devil are against me. And once I am trapped, evil doesn’t let go! It abuses my attention. It does everything it can to keep me tied up, stuck, and forced to go down ever darker paths. It’s a real miracle if I avoid or escape any of the traps!

And yet, here is the truth about our situation:

The one who lives under the protection of the Most High dwells in the shadow of the Almighty. I will say concerning the Lord, who is my refuge and my fortress, my God in whom I trust: He himself will rescue me from the bird trap (Psalm 91:1-3).

This reality is what all the attention traps want to distract you from. This is what the devil, the world, and sin don’t want us to see and experience. We live under the protection of God. We are shaded—guarded—by his love and power.

Because you have made the Lord your dwelling place, no harm will come to you; Because you have set your heart on the Lord, he will deliver you. (91:9-10;14)

Simply put, set your heart on Jesus and let him do everything else. What does that mean practically? How do I set my heart on God? It’s simple really. Name one thing you love about Jesus. Why do you love that about him? How does it make you feel to think about this thing?

You’ve just set your heart on God. Perhaps it only lasted a few seconds, but those few seconds are more precious than gold. And now, practice. Perhaps set aside a few minutes in the morning to talk to Jesus and thank him for something you love about him.

That’s it. No need to overthink this. God is not holding back his protection until you remember him. Instead, you are remembering that he “daily protects you from all danger, and guards you and preserves you from all evil; and all this out of pure, fatherly, divine goodness and mercy, without any merit or worthiness in you.” (Luther’s Small Catechism).

‍

Download our resource on Setting your heart and mind on God!