Perhaps you need to unplug and take a walk.
I suggested this to a friend earlier this week. Throughout recent weeks while our country has been so divided, he has been riddled with anxiety, fear, even anger. I looked at him and asked, “When was the last time you took 24 hours to turn it all off and disconnect? Unplug? No cell phone. No computer. No TV. When was the last time you woke up in the middle of the night, anxious, and didn’t automatically reach for your phone? When was the last time you stepped away from the noise of this world and took a long walk with the Lord?”
“He has made it clear to you, mortal man, what is good and what the LORD is requiring from you — to act with justice, to treasure the LORD’s gracious love, and to walk humbly in the company of your God.” Micah 6:8
Unplug. Take a Walk.
The answer my friend gave me was vague. Perhaps he doesn’t feel it necessary to disconnect from technology. Or, like so many, he thinks it necessary to hear the words of man. But I realized that I probably shouldn’t be making this suggestion if I wasn’t taking my own advice. It was time to unplug and take a very long walk.
Isaiah 30:15 nails it: “Your strength will come from settling down in complete dependence on me. The very thing you have been unwilling to do.”
So I did so … after two days of procrastinating.
The truth is that once I turned the mirror on myself and decided to disconnect, unplug, and take that walk, it was harder than I thought. I needed to start dinner, I needed to pay that bill, I needed to head to that meeting at church. And what was I missing on Facebook?
We cannot text while we are praying. We cannot scroll through Facebook while we are worshipping. We can’t seek dependence on God, if our eyes, hands, and heart are continually focused on images other than Him.
But I finally listened to that sweet, convicting voice that is like none other. The voice pulling me by the hand to walk with Him. I turned off my phone and let the important people in my life know that if they wanted to reach me, they would have to wait.
Invite God to Speak.
A few minutes into my walk, I passed by a neighbor. For a moment I considered asking her to walk with me. But God laid a word picture on my heart so fast: that of my neighbor agreeing to walk with me, but she set out in the opposite direction. We tried to talk, to share and listen, but the more our paths widened, the less I could hear her voice. And so it is with God’s voice.
I thanked Him for that fleeting image, and humbly prayed, “Lord, God. Allow me to walk alongside you. Please speak to me. I am listening.” These are words that God honors, just the way a father does when his child snuggles up beside him and says, “Daddy, let’s talk.”
When I checked my phone a day later, I found that nothing had happened in that 24 hours that needed my immediate direct attention. Unplugging for a day hadn’t crashed my world, after all. In fact, just the opposite. I found that when I stepped away from all my distractions, I felt comforted. I found profound peace, a mysterious reassurance that all was well, and a deep, profound love for others. His love.
The language God uses in our ears is different for each of us, but we need to unplug from the noise of the world to clearly hear His voice. Disconnect. Take a walk. Invite Him to join you, and invite Him to speak.
Do you know what makes God amazing? Click here to learn about the many attributes of His holy nature. God is waiting to speak with you!
Many thanks to our guest blogger, Vicki Hill, who cherishes her long walks and chats with God.
