[Faith-talk] FW: [thefamilyoffaith] How God Gets Our Attention - By Charles Stanley

[Eric Calhoun]

Original Message: 
From: "thefamilyoffaith" <TheFamilyofFaith at tampabay.rr.com>
To: <thefamilyoffaith at yahoogroups.com>,
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Subject: [thefamilyoffaith] How God Gets Our Attention - By Charles
Stanley
Date: 
Tue, 3 Apr 2012 11:07:39 -0400





How God Gets Our Attention

By Dr. Charles Stanley

 

Have you ever had an important message to tell someone but couldn't get
that person's undivided attention?

 

God's messages to us are always important and timely, and they deserve
our complete attention. Why? As Christians, it's our responsibility to be
wise travelers, alert to our Master's voice as we journey through life.

God's objective in communicating with us is to see you and me become
conformed to the image of His Son and express His love to the world. He
speaks primarily in four ways-through His Word, through His Holy Spirit,
through another person, and through the circumstances in our life.

Ideally, we should be so attuned to His voice that we hear it as soon as
He speaks. Unfortunately, we are not always spiritually alert. For such
situations, God has a number of ways to help us take notice.

A Restless Spirit

One of the simplest ways God gets our attention is by making us restless.
When King Ahasueruas was unable to sleep, he ordered the royal record books
be read. As a result, he discovered his life had been saved by Esther's
uncle. In wanting to honor Mordecai, the king unwittingly set in motion a
chain of events that caused Haman's planned annihilation of the Jews to be
exposed .The Jewish nation was spared because the king was alerted when God
gave him a restless spirit.

If you experience a restlessness deep within, the wise thing to do is
stop and pray. Ask, "Lord, are You trying to say something to me?" God does
not work the same way in everyone's life, but I believe His primary method
for getting my attention is by giving me a restlessness to show I need a
change of direction. Each time God was about to move me from one pastorate
to another, I became very restless for a few months. This is a very gentle
method God uses to correct our course.

A Spoken Word

A second way God gets our attention is by a word spoken through someone
else. Wanting to give Eli a message, the Lord woke the priest's young
helper by calling his name. At first, the boy did not realize it was the
voice of God. So, God used the priest to pass along a word of encouragement
to him. In a similar way, God also had Eli's attention for the forthcoming
message. He would deliver through Samuel An Unusual Blessing.

A third way God speaks is, no doubt, the method most people prefer: by
blessing us in an unusual way. The blessing might be related to home, work,
spiritual growth, finances, or health.

But the Lord does not always choose this method. Those who are
independent from God would likely become even more self-sufficient and
self-centered if they experienced lavish blessing. Remember that no matter
which method He uses to get our attention, it always an expression of His
love.

Unanswered Prayer

The fourth method is not pleasant: sometimes God will answer a prayer
with "No." David begged God to save his infant son's life, but the child
died. God loves everybody equally, but He has different purposes for each
life. In this case, the child's death was used to get David's attention in
an extreme situation involving the nation's leader who deliberately acted
against the will of God.

Sin is one reason the Lord will use unanswered prayer to get our
attention. Even if what we pray may itself be the will of God, the Lord may
refuse to answer that prayer as a way of forcing us to examine ourselves.
However, we must never pass judgment on fellow believers.

Disappointment

God will sometimes use disappointment to get us to listen. The nation of
Israel was poised at the border of the Promised Land, ready to take
possession of it. However, their spy "committee" voted ten to two against
possessing what God promised to give them in battle. Almost immediately,
the people regretted their choice and acknowledged they had sinned. But, it
was too late. While there must have been a tremendous sense of
disappointment and mourning, God certainly had their attention. In a
similar way, God allows setbacks to keep us from charting our own course
rather than doing His will.

Extraordinary Circumstances

Sometimes God will use bizarre or unusual circumstances to get us to stop
and listen. Moses saw a bush that was on fire but not consumed. As he
approached to investigate, the Lord spoke to Him from the flame. You and I
must learn to look for the presence of God in every circumstance of life.
He leaves His footprints and handiwork all around us, and we will recognize
them more often when we are watchful.

Defeat

Another method God uses is defeat. Following the Lord's stunning victory
over Jericho, the Israelites approached the small town of Ai with
overconfidence, and they neglected to fight in God's strength or with His
military plan. 

  God got Joshua's attention by letting him fail miserably. But notice,
there is a big difference between failing and being a failure. A terrible
defeat may prove to be the greatest steppingstone to success when we are
wise enough to ask, "Lord, what are You saying?"

Financial Troubles

In the book of Judges, "every man did what was right in his own eyes" and
the nation fell into idolatry and disobedience. God brought judgment
through the Midianites, who devastated the land, leaving neither livestock
nor possessions. At what point did the Israelites finally cry out to the
Lord? When He took away every material belonging and drove the people into
caves and mountains to hide for their lives. God knew exactly what it would
take to get their attention. And when they did turn to Him, He delivered
them from their oppressor and blessed them.

Tragedy, Sickness, and Affliction

While we must never look at someone else's situation and presume why God
allows suffering, we should regard our tragedies and afflictions as reasons
to ask the Lord, "What are You trying to say?" When King Hezekiah became
prideful, God used illness to alert him to the problem 

Similarly, when Saul of Tarsus was persecuting Christians, he was
stricken with blindness-then the Lord certainly had his attention!

At any given moment, God knows exactly where you are in your journey and
precisely what it will take to get your attention. So, be alert. Notice if
any of God's methods are occurring in your life. Ask Him what He wants to
tell you. Then, listen-not simply to hear, but to obey. God wants to
communicate because of His love for you and His desire to give you a hope
and a future.