The Pig and the Billboard

String a pearl: This was one of my favorite in a long line of devotionals by Pastor and friend James Ryle.
http://jamesryle.blogspot.com/

"For God does speak—now one way, now another— though man may not perceive it."
(Job 33:14, NIV)

Years ago I was invited to conduct a training seminar in a neighboring city. I arrived at the pastor's house on the evening before the event was to begin and settled down for a good night's rest, but just before I fell asleep I saw a vision of a billboard alongside a highway. Standing in the grass beside the billboard was a little pink pig. I looked at the pig and asked the Lord, "What does that mean?" He did not answer me, so I began to think of all the verses in the Bible that mentioned pigs.

I thought maybe the Lord was trying to tell me that the people would be like the pigs that went back to wallow in the mud after they were cleansed; or that there would be demons in the meeting tomorrow, and that I was to cast them into pigs; or perhaps that I shouldn't even teach because it would be like casting my pearls before swine. I even thought maybe He was telling me not to look at any pretty girls who might be there because they could be like a gold ring in a pig's nose!

Obviously, I was being quite ridiculous in my efforts to solve this riddle. And despite my ardent efforts, I could not come up with anything that made sense out of this strange vision.
Finally I stopped and asked the Lord what He was trying to say to me. He said, "James, did you read the billboard?"

Ooops. I hadn't even thought about that. I couldn't recall the vision, so I was unable to say what had been on the billboard. I said, "Lord I'm sorry. I was so taken by the pig that I didn't even look at the billboard. What did it say?"

He showed me the vision again and I read the words that were written on the billboard: "Don't Be Distracted!"

I felt so foolish. The very thing that the Lord was trying to tell me not to do was exactly what I was doing! The Lord continued, "I am speaking to My people in billboards all of the time, but they are so distracted by the little pigs that they seldom ever notice what I am saying."

How about you....seen any pigs lately?