Our world is really “loud” these days with unwanted calls, texts, emails and solicitors that ring our doorbell. When I was a kid, “spam” was this salty, canned meat that was delicious when fried with potatoes. Today’s spam is all these unwanted and frustrating interruptions that we do not want and had not planned. I try to protect myself against spam by not answering my phone if I do not recognize the caller ID. I check my Ring doorbell to see who is at the door and often don’t answer. I avoid strangers when I am out because I am shy by nature and only went to the grocery store for a few dinner items.
Then, on the flip side, I ask God to order my footsteps each day and enable me to be a blessing to someone. Can anyone else identify with this? My prayer sounds good, but my actions say, “I don’t want to be bothered.” Perhaps God sent an unknown caller for me to answer my phone for words they needed or words I needed to hear. It could have been a confirmation to a fervent prayer. Maybe that lady at the grocery store, carefully selecting an avocado, needed a friendly greeting that may have led to a more important conversation. I had to ask myself if I was missing God, if I (big sigh) was tuning Him out? Was I really doing things on my timeline, not His? The answer was a resounding YES!. Sometimes I do not recognize God’s voice because I expect it to be loud like a trumpet…obvious. God’s voice is still and small (1 Kings 19:12-13). His voice might even be a whisper. We must really tune in and pay attention to hear Him. I realized I had to be more intentional and get out what had become my cocoon… my limited mindset. One of my favorite Bible verses is Isaiah 43:18-19 “Forget the former things; do not dwell on the past. See, I am doing a new thing”! Bob Goff is a popular speaker and author of “Love Does” and other books. He places his personal phone number on the last page of all his books and invites strangers to call him. He has many cool stories of people who call and what they talk about. I am changing things on a smaller scale and am now journaling my weekly “out of my cocoon” moments when I heed promptings from the Holy Spirit such as talk to a stranger, etc. Are there things you can change to really “tune in” to God? He never slumbers or sleeps and is eager to connect with you!
