Monday, April 19th, 2010 "Do You Hear Me?"

Tsunami Devotional by Steve Keaton
Monday, April 19th, 2010
Title: Do You Hear Me?
Text: John 10:27 (NIV)
²⁷My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me.

Have you ever gotten so wrapped up in something that you tend to become oblivious to everything else that is taking place around you? I know I have. Who am I kidding? I do it all the time. I like to blame it on other things but the sad truth is that sometimes I allow myself to become so distracted and engrossed in somethings and it just doesn't matter what else is happening around me, or who is trying to get my attention.

Last week I was totally tuned in to ESPN. I was watching some sport. I'm not even sure what sport it was. Probably not even one of my favorites like football or baseball. I often just allow myself to get fully submerged in whatever sport is in front of me. I guess sports are to me what the ringing of the bell was to Pavlov's dog. Anyway, while my attention was consumed by something trivial, I had no clue that my daughter Avery was patiently standing by calling my name. And by saying "Patiently standing by, " I mean, she was standing right beside me as I lounged on our comfy couch. She had been calling out to daddy for quite a while. Then eventually she just kind of meandered off. Never drawing my attention away from the high-definition images I was watching on the television. Finally I heard something. It was the voice of my wife asking me a simple question. "Steve, did you not hear Avery?" I looked at hear as if she were speaking a foreign language. Then as if I were a large bear waking from hibernation, I began to recall faintly hearing a small child's voice trying to get her daddy's attention. However, at that time it was too late. Avery had moved on.

As I have thought more and more about that lopsided exchange of my little girl speaking softly in my ear, trying to gain just a moment of my attention, I am haunted by the fact that I would allow something so meaningless to block the acknowledgment of one I claim to love so dearly. The truly sobering thought in the midst of this example is that we do the same thing far too often when in comes to how we often allow our lives to distract us so much that we fail to hear the voice of God calling out to each of us. God patiently stands by. Speaking softly in our ear, trying His to best to gain our attention, and glean any portion of our so-called "Busy Day". All the while we are keenly focused on the task at hand, the person in front of us, the show on the television or the things of this world. And because of this, we are distracted from hearing and responding to the one we claim to love so much.

As I have replayed that interaction, with my daughter Avery, over and over in my head, I often wonder how many times I have done it to others I love? My wife, my sons, my friends, my youth? And on those occasions, want did I miss out on? What priceless experiences may have been an extraordinary gift to me? How many opportunities to love or be loved did I ignore? How many chances to either receive grace or give grace did I allow to blow away in the selfish storm of my life? Chances, opportunities and blessings that may never come again. How often have I allowed my focus on the world to draw my attention away from what God is trying to tell me, show me, direct me, send me and use me for? I mean, who do I think I am that the stuff in my life is so important that it should take priority over the voice of The Famous One?

Since that day I have tried to improve in this area. I am certainly a work in progress, but when Kim or the kids or others or God need my attention, I have tried to pull myself away from all of the distractions life has to offer, and listen to what they have to say. In my endeavor to make this priority in my personal life, I have also tried to slow down and just listen to what is being said, how I can use that, and what God truly has to say to me. And you know what? If we willingly give God our attention, we will undoubtedly realize that God is speaking loud and clear. Do you hear Him? If not, slow down, turn your attention away from the world and toward God. We may be amazed at what He has to say.

So, let's turn off the world. Tune into God, and experience the fullness of the relationship we can truly have with our Creator. And begin to listen. Shhhhhhhhh. God is trying to talk.