Tag: pay attention

Posted in Family, friends, Grace, gratitude, life, prayer, priorities, Scripture, thankful, Trials

Listen Up

Posted on by Dewayne Taylor

And your ears shall hear a word behind you, saying, “This is the way, walk in it.” Isaiah 30:21

Sometimes it can be fun. So, one of the gifts I’ve received during my “longer than some” journey on earth is a body that keeps giving me new adventures—new experiences.  Different parts, at different times, keep on surprising me.  For instance, my knees on most days still work well…except for when they don’t.  Some days when I climb or descend the stairs, they let me know they aren’t as young as they used to be.  My doctor told me twenty years ago that I might have to have a knee replacement or two at some point.  Uh, while that point is not now, I think if I squint my eyes just right, I can see it down the road.

My least favorite gift is my hearing—or rather the lack of it.  While my right ear, I call him “old faithful,” is still plugging along quite well, my left ear is struggling.  There are certain things that I just don’t hear.  One of those things is Judy. For some reason I have a hard time hearing her.  The bottom line is sometime with somethings I am just deaf.  And other times, well, I just don’t hear clearly.

The other day someone sent me a little story that I thought was genuinely funny and it certainly makes this point.  It goes like this.  Mrs. Gladys Dunn was a pillar of her church. She visited the sick, she greeted newcomers, she served on every committee, and substituted for the organist when necessary.  After services one day, she noticed a stranger leaving the church.  She went up to introduce herself.  Extending her hand, she said, “I’m Gladys Dunn.” The stranger replied, “Me too! That was the longest sermon I’ve ever heard.” Smile!

Whether that was a hearing issue or not it was certainly worth telling.  All I know is there are things I hear clearly; some I hear incorrectly (and trust me that can be funny) and some I don’t hear at all.  Of those three—not hearing at all can be the most frustrating. Now one more thing.  With the hearing things I struggle to hear—if I make an extra effort, I can almost always make it out.  But that means really, really paying attention…just like when God is talking to…us.

Unlike our physical hearing, our spiritual hearing rarely requires a hearing aid, it usually just needs for us to focus. Whether it is God speaking through His Word, or a sermon or maybe through a circumstance, we need to train ourselves to pay attention.  You see, God never speaks needlessly.  Everything He sends our way is worthy of our close attention for we never know, we.never.know, when He is going to send something very important to us.  Just like missing the warning bell at a railroad crossing can lead to disaster, so can missing the Word of God.

So let me encourage you to “listen up” and listen clearly.  In the case of our story, it was humorous but in the case of life, and when the speaker is the Father, Son, or Holy Spirit, well it is rarely something to laugh about.  The best way to sharpen your hearing spiritually is to get in a quiet place reading His Word and have a chat with Him.  Soon, you will be recognizing His voice like never before.  And one of the most important things He will tell you is, “I’ve got this.”

Posted in fear, gratitude, life, prayer, Scripture, thankful, wisdom

The Thief

Posted on by Dewayne Taylor

Teach us to number our days carefully so that we may develop wisdom in our hearts.” Psalm 90:12

The thief has struck again.  Without anyone noticing a thief has been stealing from us all.  It happens visually everyday and no one does anything to stop it because they can’t.  Slowly and almost without notice the thief takes from us and we usually don’t notice until it is too late.  Who is this thief?  It is time itself…the calendar.

The day of the year with the most daylight hours is usually around June 21st.  It is known as the summer equinox.  On that day, the tilt of the earth allows the northern hemisphere to be closest to the sun allowing the maximum amount of daylight hours.  On June 21st sunrise occurred at 5:32 am in our town.  Fourteen hours and forty-six minutes later it sets at 8:19 pm.  From that time forward, slowly and surely the amount of daylight hours slowly begins to recede.

You ask, “How much?”  Well, today the sun will rise at 6:07 am and will set at 7:50 pm.  If you do the math you will discover that will give us 13 hours and 43 minutes of daylight.  Amazingly you will find that the thief has taken an hour and 3 minutes from us.  And each passing day he will take another few minutes.  Finally, someday in the near future you will get up and wonder why it is still dark or why the sun is setting so early.  The answer is the daylight thief.

I find all this pretty fascinating.  As the days and weeks march by it reminds us that fall is coming.  Before long, the leaves will be changing colors and falling to the ground.  Perhaps, before long our thoughts, even for a few hours, will be on a happy place like Thanksgiving and not the corona virus.  On December 21 the process will all reverse.  We will begin to gain back those precious minutes of daylight and it will remind us of the promise that spring is on its way.

The amazing part of all of this is how subtly it happens. It is true of the calendar and the hours of daylight we experience, and it is true of so many small things in our lives.  We take in a few too many calories and before long we wonder why our clothes are tighter.  Humidity?  I mean they do call it the air you can wear.  We miss a few days of exercise and wonder why our energy level suddenly drops.  We miss a few days talking with our Dearest Father and wonder why He feels like a stranger. We miss our time with the Book and find ourselves bumbling our way through life. Sigh.  It is all too familiar and all too predictable.

The secret, I believe, is to be aware.  I have one of those “Joe Cool” Apple watches that tells me more than I need or want to know.  One of the things it tells me is the time of the sunrise and sunset.  A few days ago the sun was setting at 8:06 pm and I knew that meant before long it would be setting before 8:00 pm.  Sure enough, it is.  Whether it is exercise or calories or prayer or reading the Book, if we will pay attention we will have fewer surprises and consequences.  I like what Moses said.  He wrote, “Teach us to number our days carefully so that we may develop wisdom in our hearts.”  You know, wisdom to watch what we eat and how much we exercise.  Wisdom to stop and talk to God and read His Book.  Yup…good, good advice.

Paul, one of the writers of the New Testament, put it another way.  He said we should make the most of everyday, not living as someone who is foolish but as someone who is wise.  He goes on to say we should do this because the days are evil—or full of difficulties and challenges.  The fact is we all get 1440 minutes a day—no more, no less.  The hours of daylight may change, but the time has been set for eternity.  1440 opportunities to make the most of life, to get it right.  And, because we are imperfect humans, we can use some of those minutes to talk to our Dearest Father about our warts and failures.  We can snuggle up close as He whispers assurances of love and forgiveness.  We can just rest and know…that He’s got this.