Distractions/Adversity

As a minister was addressing a group of men, he took a large piece of paper and made a black spot in the center of it with a marking pen. Then he held the paper up before the group and asked them what they saw. One person quickly replied, "I see a black mark."

"Right," the preacher replied. "What else do you see?" Complete silence prevailed. "Don’t you see anything other than the black spot?" he asked. A chorus of "No" came from the audience. "I’m surprised," the speaker commented. "You have overlooked the most important thing of all - the sheet of paper."

Then he made the application.

a) In life we are often distracted by small disappointments, and we forget the innumerable blessings we receive from the Lord.

b) But, like the sheet of paper, the good things in life are overwhelmed by the adversities that monopolize our attention. [Mark Roper]

Stress in our lives operates like that black spot in the center of the paper. When we are under stress, we can’t see anything else except that which is stressing us. Dr. Richard Ecker, the founder and director of the Life Management Institute in
Wrote a book twenty years ago called The Stress Myth: Why the Pressures of Life Don’t Have to Get You Down. Ecker says, “Unquestionably, stress is the most significant negative health influence at work in American society today, and the problem grows more serious every day.” [The Stress Myth, p. 10]