Listen

What do workers gain from all their hard work? I have observed the task that God has given human beings. God has made everything fitting in its time, but has also placed eternity in their hearts, without enabling them to discover what God has done from beginning to end.

Ecclesiastes 3:9-11

Think

A few years ago, I saw a documentary entitled, The Road to Nowhere. The film shined a light on the pressure parents are putting on students in middle school and high school. AP classes, multiple extracurricular activities, college entrance exam prep courses, sports, music, and volunteer hours all imposed on children based on the misguided belief that being a 60-hour-a-week scholastic warrior is the magic equation that leads to success and happiness in life.

Unsurprisingly, it doesn’t work that way. In fact, that approach correlates to higher rates of suicide, anxiety, and self-destructive behavior.

Sadly, when students are driven and over-scheduled, there is little or no time for contemplation, prayer or solitude. Our mantra becomes “produce, produce, produce,” when it ought to be “listen, listen, listen.”

Remember, no matter how fast you go, you’ll never reach your destination if you are traveling on the wrong road. Start with asking God, “Who am I?” or “Who did you create me to be?” Then, just listen. Listen until you know the right way to go.

Wade Griffith

Pray

God, help me to discover the power of a sacred pause, of embracing sabbath. When I do finally stop, help me to listen for your voice that I might know the purpose you have given my life. Amen.

Go

Don’t think, “Yes, in the future, I ought to…”

Instead, do it.

Do it now.