There are times I’m privileged to see my children off to school in the mornings. My oldest daughter catches the school bus. However, because of my work schedule, sometimes, my child care provider comes to pick my little up in the mornings.
As I await the van’s arrival, I sit in my living room. But as I sit in my living room waiting, I’m listening to the television in my bedroom. I was waiting on the van, but I was listening to the television in the next room. In addition to the sounds coming from the television, my oldest daughter always turns on her radio in the mornings.
Well, one particular morning, I waited & waited–no van. After about 20 minutes or so, I decided to give them a call. The director answered and said he came & blew his horn several times. But I heard nothing. Although, I was positioned in the living room waiting for his arrival, I didn’t hear him. Anyway, thankfully, he’s only a few minutes away and came back to get her.
Now, I sit right by my front door & listen for the horn. My television is still on & my daughter’s radio is still playing, but I don’t focus on those noises. I focus on listening for the van’s arrival. And I hear it loud and clear in spite of the other noises around me.
I thought about the voice of God. Very often, we position ourselves to hear Him, but because of the noises surrounding us, we don’t hear Him when He speaks. Why? We’re anticipating His voice. We’re waiting to hear from Him. Why is it that when He speaks to us, we don’t hear Him?
Just like I was in the living room waiting for the van, my attention and focus was somewhere else. Where is your focus? Where is your attention? You can actually be in the right place, at the right time & still be marked absent because you didn‘t raise your hand when your name was called. Why? Because you weren’t listening. Anticipating to hear the voice of God requires more than your attendance; more than your presence. It even requires more than your good intentions to hear Him. You have to pay attention & focus on what you’re waiting for.
We know that Satan is the master of distractions. He doesn’t want you to hear the voice of God. If he doesn’t succeed with the distractions, believe that he will attempt to take away your hearing. Sometimes, you have to relocate to a quieter location in order to hear what you need to hear from the Lord. Turn down all the noises. Unplug the television. Turn off the radio. Turn the ringer off. Put your preconceived ideas & opinions on the back burner. Seek a conviction instead of a co-sign. You won’t be able to hear Him if your mouth is constantly yapping anyway. Neither will you be able to hear Him if you think you already know. Listen for God! Listen to God!
When you pay attention to someone, you can easily hear them even when you’re surrounded by other noises & other voices. You will not hear the voice of God if you’re listening to everybody & everything else. This includes self. You will not hear His voice if you are not intentionally focused on hearing His voice. You have to pay attention to what you’re waiting for. Otherwise, it will come and go & you wouldn’t have even known it. And not always, will it come back and blow a second time.
*Tressa Jo
BeyondSeeLevel 