What Has Your Attention?
By: Kristen L. McNulty
Reprint rights available on request. Email the author at kristenmcnulty@hotmail.com.
God speaks all around us. Through creation. Through the Holy Spirit. Through the Holy Spirit in other believers. Through His Word. But are you paying attention? Are you really listening? Those are good questions we as followers of Jesus should be asking ourselves regularly. Let’s look at what Jesus said to His followers on the manner. Flipping over to Mark chapter 4, verses 24 to 25:
"Then Jesus added, 'Pay close attention to what you hear. The closer you listen, the more understanding you will be given-and you will receive even more. To those who listen to my teaching, more understanding will be given. But for those who are not listening, even what little understanding they have will be taken away from them.'" Mark 4:24-25
Where Understanding Comes From
So again the question must be asked, are you listening and are you paying attention? If you’re looking around at other believers who seem to have a lot more depth and knowledge of God’s Word than you do, don’t look at them and envy, instead look at them and copy. Chances are to get that level of depth and understand of God’s Word and who He is, it didn’t just magically appear one day with no effort on their part. Understanding comes from listening and listening requires time, energy and attention on our part.
Anyone can pick up a book and read what someone else discovered about God. But you are the only person who can discover what God is trying to say to you and teach you, right where you are right now in your life and in your circumstances.
How It Happens
Instead of giving your attention to TV and social media and the million things that compete for your attention, make a point of giving your attention to God and listening to what He’s saying to you right now. This happens when you turn off the TV and get on your knees in prayer. This happens when you pick up the Bible and study each verse you read carefully. This happens when you pay close attention to the still small voice in your Spirit that guides you on God and His ways. This happens when you make the effort.
And when you do, when you pursue getting to know Him and He downloads understanding into you, that understanding will only continue to grow in leaps and bounds as you continue to pursue Him throughout your lifetime. The Kristen I was 5 years ago and how I viewed the world and God and my life and His place in it isn’t the same as today. And if you compared the person I was 5 years ago to the one I was before I started following Jesus, it would be like looking at two different people. Back then I saw the world as it was before me, now everywhere I look it’s like the curtain is pulled back and I see His hands at work (2 Cor. 4:18). As a result I don’t look at anything the same anymore whether that’s my health, my job, my relationships, the list goes on and on. And compared to a lot of believers around me, I’ve still got so far to go and so much more to learn and understand. But if I continue to pay attention to God and listen to His teaching and turn to Him for understanding, I will get there. The same is true for you.
A Reminder
"But people who aren't spiritual can't receive these truths from God's Spirit. It all sounds foolish to them and they can't understand it, for only those who are spiritual can understand what the Spirit means. Those who are spiritual can evaluate all things, but they themselves cannot be evaluated by others. For, 'Who can know the LORD's thoughts? Who knows enough to teach him?' But we understand these things, for we have the mind of Christ." 1 Corinthians 2:14-16
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