Pay Attention!

Ephesians 5:¹⁸ “Don’t destroy yourself by getting drunk, but let the Spirit fill your life.” (CEV)

Believe it or not, we are being programmed (trained) two-four-seven. Check your screen time, if you have a phone that does that, and you will be shocked at how many hours you spend on social media. You watch one reel, and tell yourself, “Just one more”. You swipe up and watch one more. Then you remember that you need to pray. “Let me just watch one more”. So, you swipe up, swipe up, and just keep swiping. Let me tell you what happened to me some time ago. I said to myself, “Three more reels!” So, I was counting—one, two, then I forgot to count the third one. I had watched at least fifteen reels before I realized what had happened.

If I had remembered, I do not know if I would have stopped. Maybe I probably would have stopped. But by the time I was swiping the third one, I had forgotten that I said three more. At that point, I put my phone down. The devil is a lair! We blame the devil for everything. The point is this, we are being programmed. I am not necessarily saying there is a large conspiracy or someone behind it. Just the fact that culture itself is shaping our minds. That is why we need to pay attention to what God is saying and pay attention to the Person of The Holy Spirit.

The truth is if you leave your devotion time more desirous of The Holy Spirit, we would have done our job. If you leave hungrier for the voice of God, it would be amazing. What we are saying is this, if we are not clear on God’s kind, loving, gentle but powerful voice we will be swayed by culture. It is inevitable. You cannot spend hours and hours on Hollywood or Nollywood and then expect to hear God effortlessly. No, it does not work like that. Even if you do initially, after a while one voice will be going down. And if you do not pay attention, before you know it, you will be wondering, where is The Holy Spirit?

He has not left, but you have become callous. You cannot continue to take in junk and expect to live right. You are what you consume. Spiritually, you are what you take in. Emotionally, you are what you take in. Physical, you are what you consume. I saw one of my sons after he got married, and I was shocked at how much weight he had put on. When I asked him what was going on, he said it was not him. He was trying to blame the poor girl. You are the one consuming her food. You cannot be consuming it and expect that nothing will happen.

Prayer (song): The cry of my heart is to love You more, to live with the touch of Your hand. Stronger each day, show me Your ways. Amen!