Distractions

God often attempts to get our attention but so many things in our life drown out His ability to reach us. Social media vies for our attention and sucks us in, stealing our time so we have less to spend with God. Our work keeps us busy so we also have another huge portion of our day consumed. Television and movies also fill our time. Other things vie for our concentration too: meal preparation, our phones, iPads, video games, caring for our home, providing for our children, music, computers, entertainment . . . The list is endless of things that keep us busy. Often we are engaged in so many activities and surrounded by so much noise that it makes it difficult for God to really communicate with us. We are so distracted and so occupied that we sink into bed at night exhausted. God is pushed to a back burner. As Christians we say we love God and that we read our Bibles and pray. But is the quality of our time with God better than the quality of our time with our worldly activities? Do we prioritize God in our lives or do those other events take priority?

This is the thought I keep thinking about as I remember the loud chirping of the cricket we are unable to find in the basement of our home. Its loud noise is incredibly audible to us especially at night when the busyness of life ends and we are settling into bed. The loudness of its voice is irritating. Yet, its noise reminds me that it is still there especially when I’m in the basement. As I move away, up the stairs to the higher levels of our home, its chirps begin to fade. It reminds me of God. His presence is still there, as is His voice but it can become faint at times and almost inaudible especially if we allow the worldly influences to occupy our time and energy. All that noise and commotion causes us to drift away from God allowing those things to consume our lives.

My hope today is that we chisel out precious time with God each and every day of our life so we don’t miss out on the insights God has for us. May we not drift away from His presence in the busyness of life. We need His voice to reach into every depth of our lives no matter what we are doing. We must remain closely connected to Him!