Make Me

The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want. He makes me to lie down in green pastures; He leads me beside the still waters. He restores my soul...
Psalm 23:1-3a NKJM

Linda Stone is a former Apple and Microsoft executive who identified a specific phenomenon about 25 years ago and called it "continuous partial attention". It is defined as "paying partial attention, continuously". So... how many people came to your mind when you read that? 

We all know someone or several someones or maybe it's us who buzz through life in this hyper-alert mode, trying to stay keyed in to everything that's going on around us. We delude ourselves into thinking that if we know everything that's going on we can better control our environment or be better prepared for perceived disaster or avert it altogether. It's a false sense of security. A lie.

The truth of the matter is that by and large, as a society we have lost the ability to sit quietly. We are constantly interrupted by pings and rings and things that buzz and vibrate to get our attention. We live in a heightened sense of stress from overstimulation and/or of being overwhelmed by the constant barrage of information. 

In Mark 6:31 NLT, Jesus said to His disciples, “Let’s go off by ourselves to a quiet place and rest awhile.” He said this because there were so many people coming and going that Jesus and his apostles didn’t even have time to eat. You know there are numerous verses about Jesus going off into the wilderness to pray and be alone to hear from the Father.

When we don't get away to rest, when we don't take time to clear our minds, we lose our ability to reflect, to make decisions, and to think creatively. We cannot do anything wholeheartedly when our attention is so divided. How often do we sit with pen and paper by our side while praying or reading or worshiping - not to write what the Holy Spirit might say to us - but to jot down what we don't want to forget we have to do later? Selah... What can you turn off? 

Prayer:

Father,

          Make us to lie down in green pastures. Lead us beside the still waters. Restore our souls. Forgive us for all the busyness. Teach us how to rest in You, how to rest with You. In Jesus' Name we pray. Amen