ApprehendingGrace.com

⁴¹But as they came closer to Jerusalem and Jesus saw the city ahead, he began to cry. ⁴²“I wish that even today you would find the way of peace. But now it is too late, and peace is hidden from you. ⁴³Before long your enemies will build ramparts against your walls and encircle you and close in on you. ⁴⁴They will crush you to the ground, and your children with you. Your enemies will not leave a single stone in place, because you have rejected the opportunity God offered you.”  Luke 19: 41-44, NLT

“Because you have rejected the opportunity God offered you.” The NRSV says it this way: “because you did not recognize the time of your visitation from God.”

Our God is such a gracious God. One who is not slow to act, but gives ample time for people to repent. And yet a time comes when the window of opportunity closes, when the visitation from God leaves. Lord, I don’t want to miss that opportunity. I don’t want to allow that visitation to go unrecognized.

The things that might cause me to do so are largely summed up in the busyness of life. Lord, help me to get away with You. Lord, thank you for helping me keep our weekly appointment.

The more busy I get, the less I am able to truly hear those around me, let alone God. Think about it…when was the last time you misunderstood your child or husband or friend simply because you were too busy to hear the whole story, both what was said and what was left unsaid?

Lord, save me from the self-absorption that comes with busyness.

A friend sent me an e-mail recently. You know, one of those that is passed around to everyone and many people find a blessing while others only find it annoying. (I fall somewhere in-between, depending on how busy I am!) Anyway, this one included a quote that I thought was worth saving and it relates here: “God whispers in your soul and speaks to your mind. Sometimes when you don’t have time to listen, He has to throw a brick at you. It’s your choice: Listen to the whisper or wait for the brick.”

Listening for the whisper is listening for God’s visitation, watching for His opportunities. Lord, open my ears and my eyes to hear and see You in my world today.

Watch for tomorrow’s blog for more from this passage.

This entry was posted on Monday, May 12th, 2008 at 12:00 pm and is filed under Hearing God. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.