What Does it Take to Get Your Attention

[Susan Adair-Shankle]

Acts 7:30b-31 "…an angel appeared to Moses in the flames of a burning bush in the desert near Mount Sinai. When he saw this, he was amazed at the sight. As he went over to look more closely, he heard the Lord's voice…." Thoughts for Today: Moses had spent 40 years in the desert during his period of self-imposed exile. Now the Lord decided it was time to get Moses attention -- to place him back in service. Notice the sequence of Moses' experience: he saw the burning bush, he was amazed at the sight, and he went over to look more closely. Many times when we are in our own desert, we don't hear the Lord's voice because we are too consumed with our own thoughts -- so the Lord needs to get out attention. In Moses' case it was a burning bush -- something ordinary (a bush), that became extraordinary. It was amazing to him (after all it's not every day you see a burning bush in the middle of the desert), so he went over to check it out (the Lord got his attention). Watch what came next: "he heard the Lord's voice." Once the Lord had Moses' attention -- Moses then heard the Lord's voice. This is a really important point to me. Many people think the key to this story is the burning bush (the miracle); I think the more important point is that God is always speaking to us -- it's just sometimes He needs to use rather dramatic means to get our attention so we hear him. When I am watching a sporting event on television, my wife believes the house could be on fire, and it wouldn't be until the heat melted the remote control that it would get my attention. We men certainly have the ability to concentrate (my positive spin on her critique), and block out all distractions. Unfortunately, this same ability to insulate ourselves can also hurt us when God is trying to talk to us. Questions to Ponder: How does God get your attention? Does the house have to burn down? Sometimes the life changing events we experience (loss of a job, health issue, financial setback, family problem, etc.) are only necessary because we haven't been listening to God -- we've blocked Him out. Are you at all blocking God out of your life? Does He currently have your attention? What is He trying to tell you?