Concentration Needed!

Our minds work so quickly that it is easy for our thoughts to be somewhere other than on what they ought to be focusing at the present. How often have we found ourselves watching something without really taking it in? The eyes might have been glued to the activity, but the mind was a million miles away. How many times has someone spoken to us and we heard them, but what was being said did not register in our mind? How frequently have we read a paragraph or two only to realize not a word of it could be remembered because the mind had drifted somewhere else? Perhaps this is the challenge as a school day wears on sitting in class after class with so much to absorb. However, the challenge doesn’t necessarily get easier as we grow older. All this can happen on the job or at home or just about anywhere, including church services. Deliberate concentration is needed to PAY ATTENTION and we would do well to put forth the effort.

In my personal reading yesterday morning I was struck by the following charge against Israel during the time of Isaiah.
“(18) Hear, you deaf, and look, you blind, that you may see! (19) Who is blind but my servant, or deaf as my messenger whom I send? Who is blind as my dedicated one, or blind as the servant of the Lord? (20) He SEES many things, BUT DOES NOT OBSERVE them; his EARS ARE OPEN, BUT he DOES NOT HEAR.” ( Isaiah 42:18-20 ESV)

Can we relate? I have looked at things without really taking note of the them. I have heard what has been said while being guilty of not really listening. There have been times I’ve responded to my wife with a simple “Uh huh” only to have her ask, “‘Uh huh’ what?” I can’t get by without her knowing I have truly listened.

When we fail to closely look at or listen to what God has revealed and said, we should recognize we are headed for serious trouble. If we are going to ignore Him we might as well be blind and deaf. At least then we might have some excuse, though God knows where the true problem rests. Israel had witnessed proofs of the power of God and His goodness of guidance and provision, but they had not fully taken it or their relationship with Him to heart. To see and hear without perceiving was a severe disability keeping the nation from walking the path of God.

When it comes to the things of God, let us PAY ATTENTION with an undivided heart. It is for our benefit that He have our undivided attention.

Have a great day MAINTAINING A GENUINE INTEREST IN THE THINGS OF GOD!
Carl

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