It’s been almost a month since I have last posted a devotional though and I’m realizing what a huge communication gap that is. Over this last month I have had a lot happen and taken a whole new step in my life. On August 24th I became a student at Winona State and took a huge step towards my future and understanding this world. It has definitely been a huge month and taken a lot of my time to get into a schedule groove that works. So far I have learned a lot and wanted to share one of the main things that has been on my mind lately. So bare with me as I express my thoughts.
The week before class started I introduced myself to my Visual Communication professor and had a very eye opening conversation with him. He asked me the usual introductory questions like who I was and what I was interested in, but that lead to a very intense conversation about the difference between information and knowledge. As we talked about reason behind why we do things I found that a lot of our decisions are made based on our interpretation of information that we have, in a sense, received. This is a simple fact, but made complex by the amount of choices information gives us and the knowledge it creates. There are so many options that knowledge illuminates as we experience interactions in our daily lives. If I look at my watch and see that it is past 9:00am and I am not in my class I immediately find myself in a hurry to get to my class. The watch supplied the information and my brain interpreted it and made me capable of making a decision. However, if I was in a different situation it would be totally different. With out the communication between the information supplied and my brain, the receiving end, I am at a loss of what to do.
Communication surounds us in every aspect of our day. Whether it is the communication between our friends or the signals or stomach sends to our brain to notify us that we are hungry… we are surrounded! A fascinating thing about our world is the many different ways to convey feelings, thoughts and information. We have websites, blogs, Facbook, e-mail, text messages, phone calls and conversations that are filled with so many rich details. We are entering an age with such rapidly growing technological advances it’s hard to keep up with everything when we are pushed to “stay with the times”.
Last week I attended a presentation that my Visual Communication Professor was putting on about the future of media. It was very eye opening, but at the same time daunting as the thought of how much information there is created every minute of every day came to mind. I found that I don’t want to become some person who is plugged into the information world 24/7. I want to be able to live m life free of this “dependency” that seems to have gripped the lives of many people. I imagine this boundary like a circle with a line through the middle. The circle is my life and on one side of the circle I can live it in the technological world, but at anytime I can step out of that and live with out it. Living in dependance on technology is something I don’t like the feel of very much. The communicational opportunities of this world are increasing and expanding in huge ways. The more we learn, the more we know and the more we are able to communicate about! That communication is what draws us into conversations and creates the living and breathing society we have today. With out communication of some sort we would all be lost in silence.
So as I compile all these thoughts together I find myself needing to apply it in some way to my faith. There is so much to learn as a Christian. In reading the word of God we are constantly faced with understanding the way God wants us to live and then integrating that into our daily lives… AND we all happen to be apart of this world that likes to make us think in it’s own way. So with all this contrasting communication how do we filter what’s beneficial and what’s degrading? Part of figuring that out is spending time with God and reading His word. There is no magical prayer to say or verse to read that develops that filter for us, it’s something we have to fight for everyday. It’s a good thing we have God at our sides with His arms out stretched ready to help.
“Therefore I tell you, whatever you ask for in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours.” - Mark 11:24
It’s really easy to think that we can draw our own line of what we need to filter. Usually we get rid of the easy things and make up some excuse that persuades us to keep the other things. I read a quote that said “Get rid of all the insignificant things so that you can put first things first.” That holds a lot of truth. There are often many things that we DON’T need that we do in place of things that we DO need… like prayer, like reading the word of God, like silence so we can hear God’s voice. This world is pushing us to get more, do more and buy bigger things. That’s all great, but where do we draw the line?
“The LORD is far from the wicked, but he hears the prayer of the righteous.”
- Proverbs 15:29
I want to leave you with this thought. As my great Macro-Economics professor puts it… “There is no such thing as a free lunch!” - Time we spend in one thing means no time spent in another thing. That show I want to watch before I go to sleep replaces some quiet prayer time I could have had. That 15 minutes I spend on Facebook every hour replaces 15 minutes I could be spending reading my bible or writing in my journal. These are the sort of things we all do on a daily basis. Just put the activity in the blank… Instead spending time with God I’m _____ . This is tough, but it’s reality! We don’t spend enough time praying, we don’t spend enough time reading and we definitely don’t spend enough time spreading God’s word!
“Devote yourselves to prayer, being watchful and thankful.” – Colossians 4:2
So this is one of the many things I have learned during these past couple weeks. What is it that I value and what valid reason to I have for making it a high priority. Life is good, but are we missing out on it being better? If we only hold on to what we are used to, then we cut ourselves off from any growth. The communication we have between God is so important. All the static that the world likes to throw our way can make it difficult to hear God, but when that static comes, instead of switching stations we need to fight for the clear signal. God has given us the ability to communicate with each other, and has gifted us with the PRIVILEGE of communicating with Him… so lets take that step towards better communication with our Creator and honor Him with choices and decisions that make communication with Him a priority that doesn’t rely on excuses.
“Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer.“ – Romans 12:12