1 Now Moses kept the flock of Jethro his father in law, the priest of Midian: and he led the flock to the backside of the desert, and came to the mountain of God, even to Horeb. 2 And the angel of the LORD appeared unto him in a flame of fire out of the midst of a bush : and he looked, and, behold, the bush burned with fire, and the bush was not consumed. 3 And Moses said, I will now turn aside, and see this great sight, why the bush is not burnt. 4 And when the LORD saw that he turned aside to see, God called unto him out of the midst of the bush, and said, Moses, Moses. And he said, Here am I. (Exodus 3:1-4 KJV)

Do you remember getting slapped, hit, knuckle plucked, thumped etc. on/beside the head for someone to get your attention about something or the other? Many times we are so tied up in what we are doing or saying that we don’t hear or see anything else, even if it is close upon us. We lose contact with the present and is wrapped up in what we are presently doing or saying. Think about the times that someone have had to call your name three or four times or touch/shake you in order to say something or something along that order to really get you to pay attention to something important that is happening right now.

Let us look at what may have happened in Moses’ situation. Moses is walking along, leading the sheep along the backside of the desert. He may have been deep in thought, thinking about his situation or just anything that has his mind numb to anything but his own thoughts. The Angel wants to talk to Moses but Moses does not acknowledge him because he is wrapped up in his thoughts. He has walked this area many times and there is nothing unusual, nothing of note. Nothing ever happens here so he can let his guard down in the protection of the sheep and let his mind drift through his own problems. He is comatose, at best. The Angel could have had a bird drop a stone on Moses’ head, in order to get his attention, but the Angel decided to burn a bush but not consume the bush in order to get Moses’ attention. Then Moses heard his name called. The bush got his attention.

The same thing happens to us as a people. We get so wrapped up in our own thoughts or just want to get own thoughts out that we don’t hear or don’t want to hear that our name is called or something is going on. We get so absorbed in our own agenda that we give the impression intentionally or unintentionally that what we are saying or doing is more important than what is attempting to be relayed to us. We may be right or we may be wrong but we should be cognizant of what is going on around us. God may have something to say and we would not hear Him. God may want to warn us and we would not hear Him. How many times does God have to try to get our attention?

I have talked with people, here at Imperial Plaza, and they are either talking so much that I can’t get a word in edge wise or I am talking and they are not hearing me because their mind is elsewhere. There is an even more ominous situation. You can speak with someone and they are in the mind set to know what you are going to say before you say it. More times than naught, they are wrong. If I had their attention, I would get my point across and would not have to repeat. I want to slap them on the head and say “pay attention”.

Alas, I find that I now go into my own little world, my own little corner, and stay to myself. I try to stay out of the way of others because what I have to say is rarely heard or understood. It may be that I do not have anything of substance to say anymore. My time that anyone pay attention to me is long over so I’ll just sit in my little solitary corner and watch the world go by. I will no longer slap someone beside their head in order to get their attention and I surly can not burn a bush, I am not God or an Angel. All I have left to say is, pay attention because something may be trying to get your attention. Take time for others because you may learn something or they may be trying to tell you something important or both. Just pay attention.