Have You Stopped Listening?

I know my kids are probably the ONLY ones who do this (yeah right!) but it drives me crazy . . . I say their name to get their attention or I ask them very calmly and politely to do something. And they ignore me. Then I ask again - a little more loudly this time since they must have not been able to hear me the first time - and still no response. Then again and again until finally, I am having to yell to get their attention. It's SO FRUSTRATING!!! For those of you who have been reading my more recent posts, you will know God has been speaking to me and this is another thought He has given me lately:

If we get so frustrated with our children . . . why do we think it's okay to do the same thing to God?

I mean, if we are Christian, He is our Father. Right?

Recently, I attended the Oklahoma Ladies Retreat along with some other members of our women's ministry group. The theme of the weekend was Scouting the Divine which basically boiled down to this: let's get back to the basics and spend time with God in His Word. At one of the break-out sessions, the speaker gave us a "list" of the steps that take place "when we are shrinking back from God." This is a quote from the handout we were given (I've added scripture references in blue that God put on my heart):

Our woman's intuition [remember, I was at a ladies retreat but this pertains to us all LOL] should alert us to when we are shrinking back from God. These are some things that may start to take place:

1. We stop being in God's Word. (Psalm 119:11)

2. It starts to get easy to miss church here and there. Shows and teaches our kids it's alright to miss when it inconveniences our plans. (I Corinthians 12:27)

3. We start to justify missing church. ("We are too busy.", "We were just worn out.") (Hebrews 10:25)

4. We begin to not see sin as sin. (ie what see see on TV or hear on the radio)

5. We aren't bothered by the things that bother God. We become insensitive to that sin. (ie gossip) (Isaiah 29:13)

6. We ignore our conscience.

7. We begin to entertain thoughts that are contrary to God's will. (Isaiah 29:15-16)

8. We resist reproof. We don't want to hear it.

9. We make a habit of our sin.

10. We even start bragging about how we know it's wrong.



I don't know about you all but I think that #1 is the "easiest" trap to fall into. At this point, the Holy Spirit says our name trying to get our attention. Then #2 & #3 play together. And He has to call a little louder. From there, I believe this speaker listed things out well in the order that they normally happen. And the Voice gets a little louder each time. Sadly, we often make it so far into the list that the Holy Spirit literally has to scream to get our attention. So, why do we get so aggravated when our children do the same thing?

Father God, please make it obvious to me and anyone who is reading this post where in our lives we are falling into these traps. Father, please make us sensitive to Your Voice. Thank you for being our Loving Father - even when we don't deserve it.