Didn’t You Get My Text?

“Didn’t you get my text?”

“I don’t know. What did it say?”

The trouble is I have Google Messages, WhatsApp, and Signal on my phone’s home screen, but there’s also Facebook Messenger, Slack, Apple Messenger, personal and work emails, and help notes to and from my students. Or did you leave a voice mail? And, if so, on which phone? Besides all that, I still have a mailbox in front of my house, and although I rarely get real mail anymore, there is still the occasional something important.  

I just checked my email, and there are currently 5,784 messages in my primary inbox with an additional 1,101 in promotions. I remember when email was brand new, and I eagerly signed up for newsletters so I could hear, “You’ve got mail.”

I think I may be suffering from communication overload. I receive more information than I have time to digest. Somehow, I need to prioritize. Must I respond to every ping on my phone? Who are the people I will always pick up for?

When God calls, I want to be ready to answer at any time, but with so many other voices, I often screen out his calls or put them on hold. In Isaiah 30:21, God makes a promise. Even though his people are being inundated with pagan spam, he says, “And your ears shall hear a word behind you, saying, ‘This is the way, walk in it,’ when you turn to the right or when you turn to the left.” My prayer is that my ears will become increasingly aware of that word behind me.