You Children, Stop, Look, and Listen
“Be still, and know that I am God!”
Our thoughts bounce around like kids on a trampoline. Trying to focus on everything leaves us mentally exhausted and unable to carry our thoughts to a deep, meaningful place. With television, video games, doom-scrolling news, TikTok, and trying to keep up with hundreds of “friends” on Facebook, our eyes blur, our minds twist, and our concentration dulls. Soon, according to Henri Nouwen, in his book Following Jesus, “There is no rhythm, no movement, no tension.” “Nothing energizes them.” Yet, our God-given call is to be energized by the Holy Spirit and enthusiastically respond in God’s holy name.
God calls us to make choices and prioritize our time. We live in a world where everything from the television to our computers to our phones is vying constantly for our attention and validation. Nouwen responds to our muddled reality with the following recommendation. “It is into this deeply tired world of ours that God sends Jesus to speak the voice of love. Jesus says, ‘Follow me. Don’t keep running around. Follow me. Don’t just sit there. Follow me.’” But what does it mean to follow Jesus?
I had an elementary school teacher one year who used to loudly demand of the students that we “stop, look, and listen.” If she said it once, she said it a thousand times that year. But looking back, fifty-five years later, it wasn’t bad advice. “Stop” letting your mind flit about but focus on what is most meaningful in the moment. Next, “look” at what is most beneficial in the moment. You regain control of your life when you concentrate on what you value. Finally, once you stop and look, your mind is ready to “listen.” Whatever we are listening to is what we respect and value. If we spend time in our third-grade classroom, listening to the friend next to us, we are disrespecting and undervaluing the teacher and their lessons.
Likewise, I believe God feels the sting of our lack of focus on matters of faith. When we focus only on what is the brightest, glitziest, and loudest, we miss the truly valuable. Faith requires us to “stop” and reflect on God’s intention for our next action. We are to prayerfully “look,” through prayer and worship, for God’s direction. Then, we are to “listen” for that still small voice to direct our way forward. Life is hard enough when God is standing beside us and within us. Life is nearly intolerable when we ignore life’s inevitable challenges and choose instead to entertain meaningless, shallow pursuits. Nouwen warns, “If we don’t have a focus, if we don’t have anyone to follow, we are empty people.” When we “stop, look, and listen,” every day becomes an exciting adventure, nurtured and blessed by God.
