Divided Attention
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Sometimes I find myself treating God the same, or even worse, than the way I resent others treating me, especially close family members.
I woke up this morning annoyed, sad, and ready to retaliate against a family member for a repeated offense. While I had been away traveling, I had expected that a specific family member would give me their time and undivided attention during our phone conversations. However, that is not what happened. What I got instead were short calls punctuated with lots of interruptions. As I started my morning worship today, my mind was busy multitasking. While part of my thoughts was tuned into having my devotions, at the same time, another part of me focused on forming a retaliation plan against the guilty party. When I began to sing a song that was meaningful to me, I found myself misreading certain words. My mind was all over the place. When I realized what was going on, I made an extra effort to sing the song, but I failed repeatedly to get it right. Then God spoke these words to my heart: “You have been complaining of not getting the undivided attention you longed for from family members, but here you are, doing the same thing and not giving Me your full attention during your worship time.” This was such a powerful wake-up call. I took a moment to repent and thanked God for His love and patience toward me. I also expressed gratitude to Him for allowing me to experience the lack of attention, for I could now see and acknowledge my behavior toward Him. My sisters, I know that many of you will identify with me in this story, or at least, the part where my mind was all over the place during my devotions. So, I want to challenge you: will you join me and purpose in your heart to give God your undivided attention when you approach Him in worship? Let us also search our hearts the next time someone hurts us and ask God if there is a deeper spiritual lesson He wants us to learn. Thank You, Lord, for extending Your grace and mercy toward us. You are awesome!
Evelyne Izeogu
