Friday, August 14, 2015

Ding

Drawing attention to myself is a great source of embarrassment. I'd much rather be part of the scene than to be the star of the show. I keep the alerts on my phone on silent for that reason. I get texts from several sources; a few are immediately urgent, most can wait a few minutes, some are only information and require no response other than "OK" or "Got it."

So to avoid the embarrassing "dings" going off almost constantly (and at inappropriate moments), I turn off the alerts.

Except for my family. And by "my family" I mean my wife, my sons, my duaghter-in-law-in-law, and my parents. I will most certainly get a "ding" from them. They have permission to interrupt anything I'm doing. I've even pledged to take a call from them during a sermon but I've never had that happen.

Everyone else has to wait. Not for very long because I'm "one of those" who checks his phone often. Let me define that word: every few minutes. So anyone trying to contact me can do so fairly quickly; my response time may or may not be to their liking but those are choices I make. I do see their messages within a few minutes of receiving them.

When my phone "dings" I know it's a text from someone I'd love to hear from because I love them so much.

God sends me messages more frequently than even my wife does! He does to you, too. Are the alerts silenced? Do you notice immediately when God speaks? Do you realize he is near even before you start looking for him? Have you ever missed a message because you weren't expecting him?

Here are some Bible verses that can help you get those messages as he sends them.

"Be still, and know that I am God." Psalm 46:10

"Those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength." Isaiah 40:31

"Very early in the morning...he went off to a solitary place, where he prayed." Mark 1:35

"Call to me and I will answer you and tell you great and unsearchable things you do not know." Jeremiah 33:3

"I will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go. I will counsel you and watch over you." Psalm 32:8

"He hears the prayer of the righteous." Proverbs 15:29

"I have heard your prayer and seen your tears." Isaiah 38:5

"On the next Sabbath almost the whole city gathered to hear the word of the Lord." Acts 13:44

"He who belongs to God hears what God says. The reason you do not hear is that you do not belong to God." John 8:47

Cry out to God and he will hear you. Listen and you will hear God. I eagerly await a message from God because I love him so much.


photo credit: Logos Bible Software

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