Listen

A park ranger at Yellowstone National Park was leading a group of hikers to a lookout tower in the park. Along the way he pointed out some of the famous sites, but he was so intent on the stories he was telling, that he paid no attention when his two-way-radio received a message. As a matter of fact, he turned it down so that it wouldn’t bother him. Later he and his party stopped to look at some flowers and to view some of the birds in the trees. Once again his radio squawked into action and distracted the ranger, so this time he turned it completely off.

As the group came closer to the lookout tower, they were met by a breathless ranger who asked the guide why he hadn’t responded to the messages on his radio. It seems that from their vantage point, high up in the tower, some of the rangers had observed a large grizzly bear stalking the group. They had been desperately trying to warn the hikers that they were in danger.

I wonder how many times we do that in our own lives? We get so involved in our own personal activities and life-pursuits that we don’t pay any attention to the voice of God trying to get through to us. Sometimes we turn down the volume. Sometimes we don’t pay attention. And sometimes, we even turn God off completely. But we need to know that if God is trying to get through to us, we can be sure it is for a good reason.

Most of us live lives that are flustered and frustrated because we do not take the time to enjoy them. We work from sunup to sundown. We work when we get home. We involve ourselves in endless activities. Even Sundays are a hectic time for many of us as we involve ourselves in worship, Bible Study, meetings and fellowship. All the while, God is trying to speak to us, and one thing that I believe God is saying is, “Stop. Rest awhile. Enjoy your life. Take delight in my creation. Be still and know that I am God.

Listening for God’s voice with you,

Tim Hobbs, Pastor

One Reply to “Listen”

  1. ken

    Great story and point! And I love the shot of Castle Geyser (I think). It is exactly what Sunday message was on at my church. Maybe God has "transmitted to my radio" twice as well! Thanks for the good message here!
    -Ken Keifer http://www.vision111.com

Leave a Reply

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.