Speaker: Sis. Techie Rodriguez, Elder, The Lord's Flock Catholic Charismatic Community

“ How God Gets our Attention”

“ For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him might not perish but might have eternal life.” (John 3:16)

God loves us! He communicates with us to express his love to the world. He speaks to us so that we become ”conformed to the image of his Son.” (Roman 8:29 )

God has charted a perfect course for our journey through life. Knowing the future, He sees when our own plans do not align with his plans. He protects us from harm and sends us timely and important messages that deserve our complete attention.

As we take our life's journey, we should be wise travelers. We must walk in the Spirit and be receptive to God's voice. Sometimes, we start our journey with God's agenda but the clamor of our daily life muffles us from his wisdom. We get too far ahead of God that we can no longer hear his voice. Preferring to do things our own way, we lose contact with our only true Guide.

God speaks to us in four ways: through his Word, through his Holy Spirit, through another person, and through circumstances in our life.

How matter how God communicates with us, we must know how to be attuned to his voice in order to hear him as soon as He speaks. We must also know how to distinguish his voice from many others that vie for our attention, such as the opinions of our peers, rebellious attitudes, and lust for what the world offers.

Unfortunately, we are not always spiritually alert in recognizing and responding to God's voice. With his infinite love, the Lord moves and gives us a number of ways to call our attention.

1. A RESTLESS SPIRIT

One of the simplest ways God gets our attention is by giving us a restless spirit. When King Ahasuerus was unable to sleep, he ordered that 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 exposed Haman's planned annihilation of the Jews. (Esther 6,7). The Jewish nation was spared because the king was alerted when God made him restless.

If you experience restlessness deep within – something you sense but cannot quite identify – the wise thing to do is stop, pray, and 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 restlessness to tell me that I need a change of direction. As I reread my old journal entries, a pattern emerges – each time God was about to move me from one pastorate to another, I would become very restless for a few months. Making us restless is a very gentle method God uses to correct our course of action.

2. A SPOKEN WORD

The second method God gets our attention is through is a word spoken by someone else. Wanting to give Eli a message, the Lord woke up Samuel, the priest's young helper, by calling his name. (1 Samuel 3:4-9). At first, the boy did not realize it was the voice of God. Eli had to instruct Samuel to listen carefully because God had a special message for him.

Young Samuel did not know the Lord as deeply as Eli did, so God used the priest to pass along a word of encouragement to the boy. In a similar way, God also had Eli's attention for the forthcoming message He would deliver through Samuel. (1 Samuel 3:11-18)

3. AN UNUSUAL BLESSING

The third way that God speaks to capture our attention is by blessing us in an unusual way. This is no doubt the method that most people prefer. The blessing may be related to home, work, spiritual growth, finances, or health.

The Lord does not always choose this method of getting our attention. A lavish blessing for people who have turned away from God and from those who refuse to depend on him might make them more self-centered and independent.

For overly self-sufficient persons, the Lord may use other methods to get back their focus on him. They should thank God for whatever method He uses to catch their attention. Every time He does, He is expressing his love for them.

4. UNANSWERED PRAYER

God's fourth means of getting our attention may appear unpleasant – the “no” answer to a person's prayer.

David implored God to save his infant son's life, but the child died (2 Samuel 12:16 -18). The death of the child was used to get David's attention in an extreme situation involving the nation's leaders who deliberately acted against God's will.

One reason why the Lord will use unanswered prayer to call our attention is our sins. Because of our sins, God may refuse to answer our prayer even if what we pray is his will – to tell us to examine ourselves and to repent.

5. DISAPPOINTMENT

God sometimes use disappointment to get us to listen to him. In the book of Numbers, Chapter 14, the nation of Israel was assembled at the border of the Promises Land , ready to take possession of it. But then, their spy “committee” voted ten to two against possessing what God promised to give them in battle. The Scripture describes the Lord's judgment upon the nation for their unbelief. The people acknowledged that they had sinned, but had changed their mind and desired to enter the land. However, the Lord said no – it was too late. For the nation of Israel , there was a tremendous sense of disappointment and mourning – God certainly got their attention! For their benefit, He had revealed the mistake of not trusting him.

Today, God allows disappointment and setbacks to get back our attention. God wants to keep us from charting our own independent course and to do his will.

6. EXTRAORDINARY CIRCUMSTANCES

God sometimes use bizarre and unusual circumstances to get us to stop what we are doing and to listen to him. In Exodus 3:1, Moses saw a bush that was on fire but not consumed. As he approach the bush to investigate, the Lord spoke to him from the flame.

We must look for the presence of God in every circumstance of life. He leaves his footprints and handiwork all around us; we will recognize them more often when we are watchful.

7. DEFEAT

Defeat is another method God uses in order to capture our attention. As written in the book of Joshua, Chapter 7, the Israelites, after the Lord's stunning victory in Jericho , approached the small town of Ali with over-confidence. They neglected to fight in God's military plan and strength. God got Joshua's attention by allowing him to fail miserably.

Let us note the big difference between failing and being a failure. Failing may be a terrible defeat but it may prove to be the greatest stepping stone to success when we are wise enough to ask “Lord, what are you saying to me?” If we respond to communications from God, we will never be a failure.

8. FINANCIAL TROUBLES

The Lord may also use financial troubles to call our attention.

In the book of Judges, “every man did what was right in his own eyes” and the nation fell into idolatry and disobedience (Judges 17:6). 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 all material belongings and drove the people into caves and mountains to hide for their lives (Judges 6:6). God knew exactly what it took to get their attention. And when they did turn to him. He delivered them from their oppressors and blessed them.

9. TRAGEDY, SICKNESS, AND AFFLICTION

While we must never look at someone else's situation and presume the reason God allows his calamity, 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 malady (2 Chro 32:24). In a similar situation, when Saul of Tarsus was a persecuting Christians, he was stricken with blindness – the Lord certainly had his attention. (Acts 9:8).