Don't Miss God's Messages to You Today

Tell me what your preferred method of communication is, and I bet I can guess how old you are.

If you rely on telephones and voice mail, you are probably reading this through bifocals.

If you prefer email and instant messages, I’d guess you’re growing a wrinkle at this very moment because you are most likely in your 30s.

If you mainly use social networks such as Facebook and text messaging, you’re probably under 25. In fact, the youth ministry for which I work texts deadline reminders to kids and has a Facebook group designed to keep everyone on the same page, no pun intended. Students routinely tell us, “Don’t email me; Facebook or text me.”

Some of my “40-something” friends have begun texting their own children, even when they are in the house together! You may be scratching your head at that, but if you really want to get your teen’s attention, text him or her occasionally. If you want to send her a compliment without getting the bogus but ever-popular “eye-roll of annoyance” in return, text her.

While the effort might seem extraneous, think of texting as leaving a note in the lunch box, which I’ll bet you’ve done. You can text your child a private family joke, ask if he’s OK or send an encouraging message (“praying for you”), or even a favorite scripture.

Of course, texting can’t replace face-to-face communication, but you can make an appointment for a deeper discussion later. In the meantime, you’ve touched base with each other. And since texting is a private communication, it can be confidentially pragmatic when you get a heads-up message that goes something like this: “Alexis is going to ask me to spend the night. Please say no.”

Any activity or gizmo that takes up so much time in our lives is bound to have spiritual implications. Group Magazine offers great questions to ask your teen about communication: “Does technology simplify or complicate your life? Do you like always being reachable? Why or not? How open are your communication lines with God?”

When I read that last question, something in my spirit quickened. I wondered how open my communication lines are with God.

For instance, I’ve noticed that whether my daughter and her friends are engaged in a birthday party or movie or ball game, when they receive a message, they discreetly check it right away. They seem to be always accessible through texting. Am I just as accessible to God, or does he wait in the sidelines of my busyness for me to get back with him when it’s convenient for me?

I want to be completely open and available to God. Whatever I’m busy with at work or home, if he arrests my attention for one moment, I want to stop in my tracks and check in through prayer. After all, God is not limited to influencing us only through Bible reading or sermons or long periods of prayer. He also gives us timely warnings, nudges us to help others and inspires much-needed ideas for newspaper columns and Internet devotionals!

May we be as attentive to his voice as we are to our cell phones. May we be as quick to respond to God as Samuel was:

“The LORD came and stood there, calling as at the other times, ‘Samuel! Samuel!’ Then Samuel said, ‘Speak, for your servant is listening’” (1 Samuel 3:10).

Everyone loves a note in the lunch box--don’t miss God’s messages to you throughout your day!

Things to think about:

1. When was the last time God got your attention in the middle of an impossibly busy moment?

2. Is your prayer life a balance of your speaking and listening, or is your speaking weighted more heavily than listening?

3. Today, jot down all of the times you sense that God is re-directing your attention. Ask him if he has a message for you in those moments.

4. If you have teens, take time to discuss the communication questions in this article.

For further reflection:

John 10:12: “My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me.”

Isaiah 55:3: “Give ear and come to me; hear me, that your soul may live. I will make an everlasting covenant with you, my faithful love promised to David.”

Isaiah 30:21: “Whether you turn to the right or to the left, your ears will hear a voice behind you, saying, ‘This is the way; walk in it.’”



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