2/28/13 by Michele Fernandez

Psalm 27:8  My heart says of you, “Seek his face!” Your face Lord, I will seek.

We live in a world that is full of chaos, distraction, and sensory overload.  Everywhere we look, people are staring down at their iPhones, plugging their ears with their iPod headphones, and constantly checking Facebook.  There are ringtones going off for texts, emails, voicemails and phone calls. People are multitasking while driving, working, and even having family meals together.  Add to these diversions raising children, running a household, careers, committee meetings, and extended family, and where does that leave us?  Going in a hundred different directions.  How do we put our focus back on the priority that matters most, but often ends up at the bottom of our list – our relationship with God?

I have come to the conclusion that we need to place God in the middle of all the worldly distractions wherever we can, to bring the focus back to him over and over.  A wise friend in the Be Still group recently said she keeps her Bible right next to her computer, so that when she is surfing the web, she has the visual reminder that she could be filling her mind with God’s word instead of websites. I have tried to come up with ways I can redirect my focus in my daily routines too.  My radio station is always tuned to the local Christian station.  It gives me many opportunities throughout the day to worship God on my way to work, or while running errands. I have “friended” Jesus on Facebook, so that when I am mindlessly reading people’s posts, I have pictures or sayings about Jesus on my wall to bring me back to Him, reminding me that I should be social networking with him, instead of my “friends.” When I check my emails, I have a daily devotion that pops up every morning that gives me a chance to pause, and start my crazy mornings off with God’s word. I now look forward to starting off my weekend with “Be Still” – a full hour of worship and prayer. On a typical Saturday morning at my house, it is rare that I get 10 minutes of quiet time and prayer between teenage sleepovers and home improvement projects. PEAK gives me a midweek boost of fellowship and Bible study, in between committee meetings and shuttling kids, that keeps me pondering God’s word until the next sermon on Sunday.

In a perfect world, we would all start our mornings off with a time of scripture, prayer, and quiet time with God.  Unfortunately most of us hit the ground running, but if we keep our focus on God in the midst of the chaos, we can seek His face, even on Facebook.