In Tune With the Father
Last night, I was awakened by some humming noise coming from outside my window. At first, it was just a quiet hum, and I thought I could ignore it and go back to sleep. But the noise droned on, periodically changing in both pitch and tone, making it impossible for me to tune it out. I tried. Believe me, I tried, but it seemed that once I had tuned in to the humming, I couldn't tune it out.
Isn't it strange how that happens? I can be doing my devotions in the quiet of the morning and suddenly hear the ticking of the clock in the living room. Before I realize it, it has been joined by the ticking of the clock in the foyer. Now aware of those noises, I find it nearly impossible to tune them out, and the constant ticking drives me crazy!
It doesn't even have to be a noise. Have you ever looked at one of those pictures that is actually two pictures in one? Like it's supposed to be a duck and a rabbit. When I first look at it, all I can see is the rabbit, but when someone points out the shape of the duck, then that's all I can see. Or, when someone points out an annoying habit of someone, and then the next time I see that person, that habit stands out like an evergreen on a glacier.
Wouldn't it be great if we could become so in tune with God that we couldn't tune Him out? How awesome would it be to be so focused on His voice that it became the only one we could hear? I feel I had a little taste of that this morning.
As part of my OPTIMIZE YOUR DAY morning process, I ask the Lord to lay someone on my heart to whom I can send a card, text or email, just to let them know that I'm praying for them. Typically, I don't even have to pause and think about it because someone instantly comes to mind, but this morning, I was drawing a blank. Sure, there were people I could think of, but no one that actually registered as a heavy burden on my heart. Suddenly, a name came to mind, so I sent that person a text. She responded in short order, marveling at the fact that I had chosen today to contact her. She went on to explain that today was the anniversary of her father's death and was a difficult day for her every year. Also, she had a stressful day planned at work, and she was dreading the day. When she received my message, she immediately told her husband how wonderful God is and that He was looking after her and sending her encouragement today.
Is that a blessing or what? That's what this ministry is all about! God was able to use me this morning to send a message to someone who needed it, not to make much of me, but to make much of Him. And it never would have happened if I hadn't been tuned in to His will and His voice. I wish I could tell you that I'm always so in tune with Him, but you know me well enough to know that that's not true. But I can say this: when I see God using me in such a way as He used me this morning, it makes me long that much more to be so in tune with Him all the time, and the only way that will happen is for me to spend more time with Him on a regular basis. To know His will, I need to understand His nature. To understand His nature, I need to know His heart. To know His heart, I need to commune with Him.
You know what else? If we stop and think about all the times that we are able to tune in to something--whether it be something that we want to tune in to or not--we'll realize that it typically happens when we're still. I heard the humming last night as I was lying in bed. I was still both in body and mind. The ticking clocks annoy me the most during my quiet time with God in the mornings. Again, when I am still. Could it be that to tune in to God more, we need to spend more time being still in His presence? I think we all know the answer.
He that hath ears to hear, let him hear. - Matthew 11:15