Do Not Disturb — Morning Devotions

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Transcript

I’m sometimes amazed at some of the records that people will endeavour to set. I read an article a while back about a Swiss man named Jean Venetti who was listed in the 2004 Guinness World Book of Records. He set the world record for collecting the most do not disturb signs.

He travelled to 131 countries and managed to collect 2,915 do not disturb signs in a variety of languages. So his dream was to collect a do not disturb sign in every country of the world. So it wasn’t until I read that article that I realised the do not disturb sign is a universal sign.

There seems to be actually the attitude of many people. Don’t disturb me, I’m too busy with my own agenda, my life, my plans. It seems to me a great shame that some people go through life with an invisible sign hung around their neck.

Do not disturb me. Keep away from me. I’ve met a few people like that. No matter what I did, I couldn’t make any approach to them. They wanted to be left alone, and yet I know they’ll be the poorer for having that attitude. Is it something from the past that stops them from moving forward? I think that many of us, if we’re honest, prefer an undisturbed life. We want our plans to succeed, we want our families to grow our businesses to profit, and even our health to stay strong. If we were to get our way, nothing bad would ever come our way. No one or nothing would ever cause us heartache or disappointment. Wouldn’t that be great? Nothing to complain about, no one to annoy us, just me and I, minding my own business.

But this is quite unrealistic. All of us experience some disturbances now and then. Disappointments, difficulties will come, we’ve got to be ready for them.

And I want to say there are times when we need to be disturbed out of our complacency.

This applies to me as well. How easy to just drift along in life doing what we want when we want. Problem is, we’ll miss out on so much more that God wants for us. Does God need to shake you up a bit? Oh look, I think it’s a fascinating question. It’s really attached to the idea of your own comfort zone.

Am I prepared to move out of my comfort zone? Well, whether I do or don’t, this is what God can do. He can push you into something new. There does come a time when we’ve got to move for our own good. I met up with a friend who told me he moved house after 50 years, and when we talked, he wished he’d done it sooner.

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It’s amazing the feeling of confidence you get when you take a step forward out of your familiar zone. Now it’s not that simple, I realise that, but God does and can come after our comfort zones to get through to us. If you’re experiencing transition or life change, ask God to speak to you and to give him your undivided attention.

If you feel he’s trying to push you out of the box that you’ve stuck yourself in, don’t resist. Let yourself open up to the new experiences. These life changes might be a big part of his plan for you. As a committed Christian, Jesus will help you discover the divine plan for your life.

Now look, change is never easy. But it is worth it. God will help you get moving. That’s why we try to ignore him, because change is the last thing we want to do. But there’s one thing for sure, the reward of obedience is far better than staying where you’re at.

It’s important to remember that listening to God begins with a genuine desire to hear from Him. God has spoken to us through those who are inspired to write the words of the scriptures. Do you feel the Lord is leading you in a certain direction? It might seem that he told you to start your own business or even to write a book.

You might start noticing more and more a trend, there’s a pattern that’s pushing you in that direction. Might be what God’s got planned for you, and if you’re not sure, ask Him, He will continue to provide you the clues. Another way that God brings us guidance is through other people.

The Lord will use family, close friends, and even total strangers to speak a word into your life that will pierce an area that God is trying to deal with.

Sometimes a random person you meet will mention something that you desperately need to know or hear that you wouldn’t have otherwise heard. God can use anyone to bring you the gospel and to give you solid advice. Is God calling out to you and trying to get your attention? Open yourself up to God’s leading and stop wearing the do not disturb sign.

And stop shutting other people out of your life. Rely on your friends during the dark times, and if you’re feeling divinely guided by someone, it may well be that God is trying to get your attention.

Let’s Pray

Heavenly Father, how easy it is and how simple it is to just say, don’t disturb me, I’m running my own race in life, thank you. But Lord, we don’t want to miss out on the huge opportunities that you’ve got as we live our lives as your children. Amen.

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