Know that scrambling feeling when you hear your cell phone ringing and you can't get to it fast enough? When you're hurrying through the contents of your purse, grabbing everything that feels like a rectangle? Or, even better, when you've been asleep and someone calls you and you reach to pick up the phone and it falls between the nightstand and the wall? Nothing can describe that moment of semi-panic that we feel when we know the phone has been ringing for a while and will go to voicemail at any second, and we just can't seem to get to it. I struggle with this particular problem quite a lot since I keep my phone on silent all the time. I hear it vibrating just moments before it goes to voicemail. Oops!
We can never be 100% prepared for phone calls. I mean, we have to shower and sleep at some point, right? And it seems that we get phone calls at the most inconvenient times - while we're driving, while we're carrying groceries in the house, while we're walking the dog and passing another person walking their dog and our dogs want to kill one another... (I've obviously experienced this last scenario myself.)
How often are we prepared for Jesus to call us? (I'm not talking about cell phones anymore.) How often are we prepared to answer the call to serve another, to volunteer at an organization, to witness to someone? When we are not prepared for Jesus to call, it's easy for us to miss it. We might feel that buzzing inside of us and think, Wait, is that Jesus? I wonder what He wants. Is He trying to get me to pay attention? Am I sure that's Him? Maybe I'm just imagining it - maybe it's all in my head. We sit and think about what He might want us to know so much that we forget to pick up the phone and listen! Before we know it the moment is gone and we're left wondering what we missed.
When we're not intentionally spending time with Him every day, it's easy to forget what His voice sounds like. But when we spend time with Him every day, reading Scripture and praying, we are more prepared for His call. Be honest with yourself for a second - how often are you really spending time with Him? The pace of life can make it easy to go a week without connecting with Him. Be honest with yourself on this too - is church once a week enough? On Wednesday when you want to throw a plate at your child's head, was Sunday's service enough?
So often I hear my friends say, "I just can't hear His voice anymore." But when I ask them about quiet time, they say that they don't have the energy to do it anymore because they can't feel Him. Folks, God doesn't just want your heart, He wants your head too. He wants to know that you love Him and He wants to know that you trust Him enough to hang in there when that love doesn't feel like it's there anymore.
I don't even want to know how many opportunities I've missed due to overthinking or inattentiveness. Why God continues to call me when I've already missed so many calls is beyond me. I do try to spend time with Him every day, so I don't forget His voice. Sometimes I do great, other times I struggle. When I'm honest with myself, I know I've missed more quiet times than I've remembered. I've gone years without picking up the phone. The beauty of it is that God doesn't hold those missed opportunities against me. He doesn't call me thinking, She never picks up. He doesn't give up on me, doesn't hold my faults over my head, doesn't have a scorecard in Heaven tracking the times I've picked up and the times I've missed my call. He never gives up on me - and He won't give up on you either.
I want to encourage you today to spend some time with Him. If it's been a while, it'll probably be a little awkward. Awkward is okay. Look at all of the great things in life that start out awkward. Your first boyfriend/girlfriend. Your first job. Your first time driving. Don't let awkward keep you from living life.
*Note: Jesus Calling is a wonderful daily devotional book. It has a passage for every day of the year. I would encourage anyone struggling with quiet time or for hearing God's voice to purchase this book. It is meant to read along with Scripture, not to take the place of Scripture.*
