Leo (my buddy, my dog) has a special skill of relaying to me what is most important. He sends this message loud and clear, but not in the ways we would normally communicate. If I am on my phone, he nudges my arm. If I am working on my computer, he puts his head right in front of the screen so all I can see is him. When he is hungry, he sits and stares at one of us and when we acknowledge him, he runs to his bowl, pointing out the urgency of his need. And we have a bell. He rings this bell for everything else. Sometimes he rings the bell just to get attention. Sometimes he will ring the bell and walk away – as if to let us know he passed by it but had to touch it. He has a way of knowing if I am struggling and just sits in my lap, not asking for anything. He just offers his kindness. I learn something new every day from his skills and abilities. He doesn’t have to communicate in the usual ways to get his message across. I understand what he needs.
We can wander through life trying to figure out why we don’t hear God. We can walk aimlessly not really understanding how God leads or feeling his presence. I think it is because we aren’t paying attention. If God created Leo, who can communicate with me, surely God is not lacking for ways to communicate. I think we just pass right by him on a regular basis. I think we mistake his embrace for something else. I think we simply take for granted things are the way they are without realizing all we have been given by a God who loves us more than we can imagine. God communicates. He speaks loud and clear. We may not want to hear the message. We may not want to do what we know he is asking. We may want to run the other way. But God is not short on communication. He is speaking to us – it just might not be in the way we are expecting.
We have to pay attention – looking around at all God is doing. It will take time. It will take effort. But we just might find he has been communicating with us long before we ever started listening. And maybe today is the day to hear him.
Psalm 18:6
6 In my distress I called upon the Lord;
to my God I cried for help.
From his temple he heard my voice,
and my cry to him reached his ears.
Photos included in Devotions are captured by David Cain – The Cain Gallery. Photos are available for sale by contacting The Cain Gallery
SEEING THE EXTRAORDINARY 