Stop, Look & Listen

We live in such a 'do it now' society.
Instant this or that.  Anger at delays.
Frustration that an email or text wasn't replied to in minutes.  We live in a world where your phone pretty much is no longer attached to your house but rather to your hip.

We live in a culture that blames objects rather than people when we are in a hurry.
In our microwave society even a stop sign or stop light is a major annoyance to be dealt with.  So they uproot such things in favor of roundabouts where people don't stop. 

We want what we want when we want it.

But where does that include God?

Stop, look and listen seems to fly in the face of a world with no brakes.  But that is the example of Jesus.  He quite often stopped everything to take His Disciples away from everyone.  He took Himself away from everyone at times. 

If you have ever truly experienced the peace of being hours away from the world at large, you honestly would crave more of it.  My fondest memories are of what it was like in the neighborhood of where my Grandparents lived in Pennsylvania.  After about 3 days the headaches would be gone and then you could REALLY hear things.  The background noise of the city numbs us to so much. 

Same goes with our Spiritual walk.  Life's noises try to drown out the voice of God in us.  Scripture calls it a still small voice.
We need to make the effort to slow down and listen. 

Additionally so much can go wrong when you move too fast.  Look at the sheer volume of accidents.  Most involve speed.
Look at the countless near misses in accidents.  Not a day goes by when traveling the same path to work that someone is going to be late and the 30 seconds going 80 in a 65 matters to them.
Newsflash.  Leave earlier. Prepare better.

But go back to being still.  The things in life will still be there before you.  You are still going to have them.  Stopping to listen to God is every bit as important as you talking to Him. 

I am very much guilty of not taking the time.  Mentally my days are always long.
I have a semi-multitasking brain.   I may or may not be physically tired but mentally I can be wiped out.  Doing one thing while mentally figuring out other problems. Constantly, all day long.  I can be so involved in problem solving that I don't remember if I just closed the garage door 10 seconds after leaving the driveway.  I can be so involved that I don't remember if I really was paying full attention while driving. 

So stopping my multitrack mind isn't easy.

But here in the morning, before my world gets started, is my time with Jesus. Both in prayer and in listening.  I was asked how long I would keep writing these posts.  My only answer can be, as long as God gives me something to say.

What He shares with me I share with all of you.   As I have also mentioned to others, I target nobody in specific with these posts. If God's wanting to get through to someone's heart, He can use anything, including me. 

Some of the posts are indeed about what distresses God.  What offends God SHOULD offend me.  The devaluation of human life.  To say that a baby isn't human.  That it's ok to murder them in the protection of the mother's womb.  To degrade people into sexual slavery.  To abuse men, women and children.  To deny how God created people as the men and women they were born as. God doesn't make mistakes.  To see how abhorrent people are towards one another.  The sheer level of evil that's in the news of atrocities against others.  It all breaks the heart of God!  This is NOT what men and women were put here for! 

So stop, look, an listen.

Don't let yourself be numb to the news. When you see these things stop and pray.
Look for things that God is giving you to pray for.
Listen for Him to speak to you. If indeed you are saved, yes, Jesus speaks to you.
He said my sheep hear my voice.

Stop, look and listen.  Put the brakes on life.  Get away with the only intent of growing closer to your Savior.  It's not about speed.  We run the race of life with the intent of winning, but not all are needing to run at breakneck speed.
Our goal is to be told "Well done..." by Jesus.  If we ignore people, if we aren't going through life in obedience to God, how can we expect to be told "Well done"?
Love people into a relationship with Jesus.  Let Jesus deal with the sin in their lives, just as He has in ours.  If they truly have come to Christ, they won't stay the same way they were.