Do you know what the worst possible thing to do when driving a 4,000 pound vehicle is? Not paying attention. Eating, putting on makeup, or getting lost in your own thoughts are an extremely dangerous endeavor when plummeting down the road at blazing speeds. And you already knew that. You didn’t need me to tell you that daydreaming while driving is essentially the same as digging your own grave. But that’s exactly what 27% of adults and 34% of teenagers do while driving-they take their eyes off the road to read or send a text message.
Texting while driving is the leading cause of 1,600,000 accidents per year, 11 teen deaths EVERY day, and nearly 25% of all wrecks. Texting while driving is about six times more likely to cause an accident than driving intoxicated, is the same as drinking four beers, makes you 23X more likely to crash, and is the same as driving blind for five seconds .
And if that’s not scary enough, roughly one out of every four people that you are going to drive past today on your commute home will have their eyes on a phone rather than on the road! Yikes!!
Texting while driving is suicidal. It’s asking to get into a wreck. It causes you to miss your turns, road signs, and blinds you to the chaotic traffic that is racing all around you. But I don’t believe this phenomenon is limited only to texting and driving. I believe this is actually a pretty good snap shot of our lives. I believe that we, like the texting drivers, get distracted from our main purpose fairly easily because of technology.
And I’m not trying to knock technology in any sense. After all, if it weren’t for technology you wouldn’t be reading this blog right now! But I do believe that we often allow technology to wrangle our attention away from the signs and promptings that God puts in our lives. Just take a look at Moses’ story in Exodus 3-to see what I’m talking about.
As this story opens, Moses has already been shepherding his father-in-law’s flock for forty years in the desert. Translation: Moses is pretty bored! It’s at this time that, “…the angel of the LORD appeared to [Moses] in flames of fire from within a bush. Moses saw that though the bush was on fire it did not burn up” (Exodus 3:2, NIV).
I’ve seen a couple of burning bushes before, and so have you. Ok, well, maybe we haven’t seen an actual eternal flame coming from a bush in the middle of the desert but I believe that we all have had multiple times throughout our lives where God has used something unusual and unique to capture our attention-a “burning bush” if you will. Maybe that burning bush was a scene in nature, an old picture, or a random word of encouragement from a stranger that God used to grab your attention. Whatever burning bush God used to flag down your focus, I believe that we, just like Moses, encounter many “smoke signals” from God as we walk throughout our day.
So when Moses saw his burning bush on Mount Horeb he said to himself, “…I will go over and see this strange sight-why the bush does not burn up” (Exodus 3:3, NIV). Moses’ thought process seems so natural that it shouldn’t surprise you at all-if you see something that is strange you likely go check it out as well. If something peaks your curiosity you likely search out an answer. But what the beginning of Exodus 3:4 (NIV) says makes me believe that Moses’ instinctive actions aren’t always the action that we choose-“When the LORD saw that [Moses] had gone over to look [at the burning bush]….”
I know this is a simple statement and one that we would likely glaze right over but I believe it was included in this story for a very specific purpose. You see, this verse seems to indicate that Moses had a choice to make-he could have checked out the unusual sight or he could have gone on with his day. He could have fed his curiosity or he could have very easily ignored this burning bush and therefore missed out on what God had to say to him. I mean all it would have taken for Exodus 3:4 to read, “When the LORD saw that Moses had NOT gone over to look at the burning bush…” was for Moses to get distracted.
And it’s right here, between Exodus 3:3 and Exodus 3:4, that many of us fail to hear God’s calling for our lives. I believe that we see some of the signs, promptings, and burning bushes that the Lord has for us but rather than investigating them, we are quick to fill up every free moment with technology and entertainment. If you don’t believe me then try this little experiment-the next time you are in and airport or any type of waiting room take a look around you and count how many people’s heads are down as they stare into a bright screen of an electronic device. It doesn’t matter what gender, race, or age they are, everybody wants to stay connected and avoid being bored.
But Moses didn’t have the luxury to pull out his phone to keep himself entertained while wandering through the desert for forty years. Instead, all Moses could do to stay entertained was to be aware and observant of his surroundings. And thank goodness he was! Because it was through his awareness and unquenched curiosity that he heard the Lord’s calling to deliver His people from the bondage of oppression as Exodus 3 rolls on. Moses’ awareness eventually led to Israel’s deliverance.
I wonder if God wants to do something similar with your life right now. I wonder what He is trying to say to you. And even more importantly, I wonder how He wants to use you. Maybe He wants to use you to deliver someone from a drug addiction. Maybe He wants to use you to find the cure for cancer. Or maybe He wants to use you to lead our nation out of a spiritual slumber.
I know what you’re thinking-“Surely God wouldn’t use me to do something as grand as that.” But that’s exactly what Moses thought as well-“But Moses said to God, ‘Who am I that I should go to Pharaoh and bring the Israelites out of Egypt?'” (Exodus 3:11, NIV).
Who are you Moses? Why did the Lord choose to use you? Because you were a nobody who didn’t allow distractions to, well, distract you. And that’s all God is looking for-not someone who is strong, smart, or wealthy, but someone who will pay attention to His calling.
You can be that person if you’re willing to let yourself be bored. Sometimes you have to put down your phone, turn off the TV, and shut down the computer. You need to let your life be filled with moments where you are not plugged into technology but rather dialed into the signs and wonders of our Father.
With that being said, I want to challenge you to take thirty minutes every day for the next week to get away from technology and simply listen to God. Ask God to speak to you-He’s promised to reveal Himself to us when we seek Him with all of our hearts (Jeremiah 29:13). He may not show you a burning bush but I think you will be surprised when you discover just how much God is truly talking to you when you’re not distracted.
Comments? Questions? Suggestions?
©Grant Gaines 2013
1 http://www.textinganddrivingsafety.com/texting-and-driving-stats/
