Pay Attention
I remember as a kid being told to pay attention. The people telling me this were my parents or my teachers. As a child it is pretty easy to be distracted by many things around. A child can be distracted by a shiny new toy or a butterfly and wander off of the playground. I remember my parents and teachers wanting me to look them squarely in the eye as they spoke to me so that they felt like I was really paying attention. I even fooled them on this occasionally.
As a grown up, I think I still have trouble paying attention. There are always “shiny objects” that catch my attention and divert my action. I’m over the butterflies, but there are so many things that have taken their place. It is important that I pay attention to the important instructions from the Lord. Check this out…
17 This is what the Lord says – your Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel: ‘I am the Lord your God, who teaches you what is best for you, who directs you in the way you should go. 18 If only you had paid attention to my commands, your peace would have been like a river, your well-being like the waves of the sea. 19 Your descendants would have been like the sand, your children like its numberless grains; their name would never be blotted out nor destroyed from before me.’ (Isaiah 48:17-19 NIV)
Paying close attention to the important items of my day really comes down to discipline. I must discipline myself to stay focused on the important tasks at hand. One of my “big distractors” are “urgent tasks” that come my way. If I’m not really careful the “urgent” can squeeze out the “important” tasks. I remember early on as I would start my day by checking my email or starting to work on something prior to spending time in the Word, the important (spending time in the Word) would get pushed down the agenda and often removed from the agenda all together. I want to keep the important things in the most important spots on my agenda. I will simply have to find the time to do the other “urgent” things. I don’t ever want to let the “noise of the activities of my day” crowd out the voice of God directing my important activities.
Pressing On! Dwayne