Have you ever tried just being still and listening...Not to a person, not to a song or anything but quieting your mind. It's got to be an amazing discipline to be able to do that. I am wondering if that's what one of my pastors called "the noise" of Satan's scheme and one way he would distract us from God.
As I think about the busyness of life I could see how "busyness" could be an idol. I think sometimes we all do it. I have seen it so many places. Tell someone how hectic and busy your life is...there's a good chance that they are gonna compare their day or time...you know what I mean. It's almost like we're proud of it.
I think it's even embedded into that workforce. I was talking with a new acquaintance last night one of his observations was that the company he worked for wanted to make sure they were getting their money's worth. Employees are driven harder so that companies can be profitable. I am not saying that's a bad thing, I think we should work hard at work. But, we have been conditioned to multitask and allow ourselves to be constantly interrupted. No longer can we contemplate the best solution, we have to just get it done right then. It's now so ingrained that when I only work on 1 thing I can't think. I check my phone for messages, hit the internet for something that popped into my head, etc. etc.
I don't know, maybe I am the only one that suffers from the inability to concentrate. It's probably a symptom of a weak mind. But, I am ready to quit that life. I want to be able to focus... I want to be able to think things through. But, mostly I want to be able to hear from God.
All this came about as one of my friends gave me some good advice...he said, "You should pray about this ministry for 15 minutes a day...mostly listening". I tried, and currently, I can't do it. I figure it's just gonna take time and perseverance. The scripture comes to mind, "Could you not tarry with me for 1 hour?" I'd would have fallen asleep too...
Anyone have any 12 step programs to better concentration?
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1 comment:
From Les:
I just spent 45 minutes responding to this post, writing a "response" that was inappropriately long. Half way through I figured it would be better to post this on the AHBC blog, instead hijacking your blog with a novel. Then I lost most of it when I cut and pasted to Word... Go figure.
Anyway, I'm prone to the same problem. You and I have talked about it, in the context of my situation before (Chipotle's).
Short summary, two things work for me. The first is some quieting techniques I have learned through trial and error over the years. Helps a bunch. The second is to have regular both regular and interventionist personal "mini prayer retreats." There too, I have developed some structure/techniques that help me a lot.
I'm going to post on this in more depth tomorrow on the AHBC site. Great topic.
Les
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