22Apr16

1 Samuel 15:24
Saul said to Samuel, "I have sinned, for I have transgressed the commandment of the Lord and your words, because I feared the people and obeyed their voice."

When I was a youth pastor I used to play a game with the teens that would be set up like this... I would have them stand in a circle and then I would give each of them the name of an animal. No matter what size of group I had there would be only two people with the same animal. Then, when I said "go," they would all start making their animal noise at the tops of their lungs trying desperately to find their partner in a sea of noise. It was a ridiculous sight. But, it taught an important lesson. Sometimes it is really hard to hear the voice you are supposed to be listening to.

The Bible says that God speaks in a "still, small, voice." I definitely don't think that's the only voice He uses though because He has definitely shouted at me before. But, in a world that vies for our attention every second of the day it is really hard to hear the voice of God. It's even harder if we're not even listening for it. Saul knew what the right thing to do was but, he was swayed by the pleading of the people. If we don't have our priorities right it is too easy to lose track of the voice of God. What if you're trying to find a duck sound but, you really like ponies? I really want to be a pony... let's follow the pony noise. Nope. Doesn't work.

Take the time to pause today and hone in on God's voice. Try to take 5 minutes. Seriously... time yourself. 5 minutes to block out everything else and listen for the voice of God about your direction and choices. If we go too long without that we may even forget what the voice of God sounds like. Don't follow the pony noises... listen for God. Who are you listening to today?