Teach me knowledge and good judgment, for I trust your commands. (Ps. 119:66)
In today’s world, we walk around with mini computers and everything at our fingertips. At coffee shops or any environment where groups of people are sharing space for varying reasons, we can find a host of people with headphones tuning out everything around them. Socially speaking, if someone has headphones on, they are indicating that they don’t want to be bothered. If they have just one ear covered, then they are letting those around them know that they are busy, but if you need to interrupt them, you may. This attitude has carried over from our society into our daily walk with God.
Our attitudes and heart deeply impact how loudly and how clearly we can hear the correction and guidance of the Lord. God is always speaking to us; it just depends whether we are listening. In our personal journeys with God, are our attitudes and hearts in a posture that is willing to hear, receive, and learn? Or have we covered our ears with the world and what others think in such a way that we cannot even hear what God is saying to us?
Every day, put yourself aside and pick up your cross. But more than that, choose to put away distractions so that you can be ready to hear, receive, and learn from the Lord.
Ask God to help you pinpoint and remove your greatest distraction.
Maggie Slusher is a young pastor who is passionate about transformational spiritual formation—at every age and season in life. She takes any chance to get outdoors.
© 2019 Wesleyan Publishing House. Reprinted from Light from the Word. Used by permission.