By Andrea Merrell
My sheep listen to my voice;
I know them, and they follow me.
John 10:27 NIV
As I tried to sit
quietly in the Lord’s presence to seek His face and hear His voice, I thought
about the childhood game of tick-a-lock. Zip your lips and lock them. See who
can go the longest without talking.
Difficult but
doable. But that’s when I realized just how difficult it is to zip the mind
shut, drowning out all the anxious thoughts, planning strategies, fear, and
worry that shoot through my head like fireworks.
Tick-a-lock for
the mind. That’s what I needed.
Sitting still and
quiet is not an easy task. Even when watching TV, reading a book, or working on
the computer, my mind tends to wander. I have to constantly bring my focus back
to what’s at hand.
Thankfully, God knows
the way we’re wired. And He already knows all our anxious thoughts. What He
offers us in exchange for our fears and anxieties is peace that goes beyond
human comprehension, joy that persists and overflows even in the worst of
circumstances, and pure, brilliant light that fills us, drives out the
darkness, and shines on the path He has set before us.
When I’m talking
to someone, I desire their full, undivided attention. God wants and expects no
less. He is always ready and waiting to speak words of life to us. All we have
to do is listen.
So … tick-a-lock.
Great analogy. I used to play that game as a child, too. I, agree, much harder to Tick-a-Lock your mind. :-)
ReplyDeleteAbsolutely, especially for us women who have a spaghetti brain. Those thoughts just keep sliding around from one side of the plate to the other. LOL :)
ReplyDelete