Ben Milstead

Several months ago I was driving to Charlotte by myself.  It’s about a two hour drive from where I live.  I arrived at my destination,  got out of the car, and started hearing some sort of alarm faintly in the distance.  It was another couple of minutes before I realized it was the alarm on my watch…the alarm I had set to notify me that I needed to be leaving home and on my way to Charlotte.  The alarm that had been going off for over two hours.  I never heard it!

I firmly believe that God is constantly talking to us but we have to be willing to listen!  So many times I’ve found myself saying “I just want to know God’s will” or “I just don’t hear Him saying anything”.  Well are you listening?  To God?  Maybe we don’t hear Him because our life is too loud.  We wake up to a radio.  I have a radio in the bathroom when I’m getting ready in the mornings.  Radio and kids are on in the car on the drive to school and to work.  You walk in the office and there are co-workers and music.  Many of us even fall asleep with the TV on!  So when do we allow time to hear God?  Our 10 minute quiet time in the mornings isn’t enough for some.  Turn life off for a second.  You would be amazed at what you hear.

In my homegroup a few weeks ago we got on the conversation about how some of us wake up in the middle of the night and our mind starts wondering and we can’t get back to sleep.  When that happens to me I end up turning the TV on.  Why?  Because I don’t want to hear the things going on in my mind.  Maybe that’s God trying to communicate with us.  If that’s the only time we give Him then that’s the time he’s going to take.  Psalm 46:10 “Be Still and know that I am God” can be translated several different ways.  One of the most obvious for me is to, are you ready for this?  BE STILL and KNOW that I AM GOD!!  Be quiet and listen!   The alarm on my watch was there the whole time.  It tried to talk to me for over two hours.  Just because I didn’t hear it doesn’t mean it wasn’t happening.  I wonder how many times that’s happened between me and God?

 So why would I blog?  I’m Blogging for….ME!   It’s one of my ways that I can “Be Still”.   I find it easier to remember things if I write them down and to formulate the thoughts in my head.   I must admit that, up until about six months ago, I thought this was the dumbest thing on the net.  That was until I started reading several blogs on a daily basis.  I have learned from others, been inspired by others, and have expanded my mind beyond the limits I had once set for myself.