Open Your Eyes

John 4:35 Do you not say, 'Four months more and then the harvest'? I tell you open your eyes and look at the fields! They are ripe for harvest.

The story is told of a job posting for a telegraph operator in the American west during the mid 1800's. Prospective applicants waited for an interview in a crowded waiting room with the noise of a telegraph machine in the background. As this was a high paying, skilled position, many expected a lot of competition for the only opening listed. 20 or so men waited for quite some time but no one in charge ever entered the room to acknowledge their presence. A young man entered and found a seat but after only a few minutes, he got up, went through a door in the room towards the sound of the telegraph. Within a few minutes the telegraph station manager came into the waiting room to announce that the position had been filled. How could that be, demanded the crowd. No one was interviewed. Not so, stated the manager. You see, the telegraph in the other room had been sending out a Morse code message stating that if you could understand this message, come through the door and the job would be yours.

How many times do we miss the messages that God is sending to us? Is he trying to tell you something now but like the other people in the waiting room, you are missing God's message in the background noise? Only the one young man was listening to what was going on around him. We should strive to be more like that. But how do you do it? Some things to consider:

* Prayer - are you talking with God? God does speak in times of prayer and quietness.
* Study - is your Bible covered with dust? Is your only Biblical training for 15 minutes on Sunday morning? God will speak through his Word.
* Fellowship - do you regularly attend church and have close relationships with other believers? God does speak through your friends and family.

Only when we look and listen for God can we know what he is saying to us and how we are to serve him.

Blessings
Mark