Take charge
We live in an age of information overload.
We are surrounded by so much of it that we can’t keep up with it all. There are whole universes of information out there – with their own focused social media, their own leading figures, their own controversies – that most of us don’t even think about. Much less know about.
All of whom are constantly pumping out more and more information.
The reason we don’t know about any of it? We’re not listening. We’re not paying attention.
Out of self-preservation if nothing else.
In the run-up to the recent election, a New Yorker cartoon summed up our dilemma pretty neatly with this line – “My desire to be well-informed is currently at odds with my desire to remain sane.”
And while the problem might be more obvious in an election season, information overload isn’t going away any time soon.
For the foreseeable future, you and I are stuck with the mixed mess of things we follow. Things we’d like to keep up with but don’t have the time to. Things we need to cut back on to keep our sanity. Things we don’t even know about. Things we don’t want to know about. And more.
In the middle of all of that, God is speaking to us.
God is always speaking to us. God is trying to guide us and encourage us. To help us be who He made us to be. To give us insight and bring us home to Him.
But too often we let all of that other stuff fill up the space we have for paying attention – at the loss of the things that really matter. The things of God.
God speaks to us in a lot of different ways. Sometimes it is just like St. Paul on the road to Damascus – out loud and powerful, enough to knock us over.
Most of the time though, God speaks to us through less forceful things. Maybe someone gives you a few words at the right time that ring like a bell. Sometimes a sermon or a book strikes home.
Sometimes it’s even more subtle. You have an urge to do something you don’t usually do. Or an impulse to say something you normally wouldn’t.
Maybe you have an uneasiness about something. Down deep, you just don’t feel good about it.
Those are channels that God will use to speak to you, if you let Him.
And you’re thinking, “you’re just telling me to trust my gut.”
No. I’m not. If you’re at all like me, then your instincts are the last thing you ever want to trust.
What I am telling you is to read intentionally. Listen intentionally. Take charge of what you are taking in.
Make time for the One voice that you can trust.
This is what Jesus is talking about in today’s Gospel. When He says, “whoever has ears ought to hear.” This is what we need to be listening to. The voice of God.
You want clarity and peace? Make time to be with God. Every day. Listen to what He’s saying to you.
The more you do, the more you’ll be able to hear those subtle ways that God is speaking to you.
Don’t trust your gut. Trust God.
Today’s Readings