Auditory Theives

A lot has changed since the time of Christ.  One of the primary differences from 2,000 years ago is the abundance of silence.  Today we are bombarded with the constant sound of cars, planes, lawnmowers, machinery, TV, music, iPods, appliances, etc.  In centuries past the most common sounds in a village would be animals, people talking, and maybe the wind in the trees - if you were around trees, that is.  Though the mind can be difficult to "quiet," quiet used to be much more plentiful.  We have been trained to be uncomfortable and awkward with quiet.  If we are driving and there is a pause in the conversation for longer than 20 seconds, we'll turn on the radio.  When a "moment of silence" is requested at a major sporting event, there are always a bunch of knuckleheads who believe that is the moment to yell something idiotic.  Silence?  We just don't do silence these days.

Remember when Elijah fled from Jezebel fearing for his life?  He traveled to mount Horeb and God met him there.  1 Kings 19:11-12 says, "Then He said, "Go out, and stand on the mountain before the Lord." And behold, the Lord passed by, and a great and strong wind tore into the mountains and broke the rocks in pieces before the Lord, but the Lord was not in the wind; and after the wind an earthquake, but the Lord was not in the earthquake; [12] and after the earthquake a fire, but the Lord was not in the fire; and after the fire a still small voice."  God was not in the great wind, the earthquake, or the fire:  He was in the still small voice.  Jesus says His sheep hear His voice.  We might be able to hear His voice, but we make it difficult on ourselves with all the noise we welcome into our lives.

If I was the devil and knew that God spoke in a quiet whisper, I wouldn't devise anything to operate quietly.  Now can God speak to your heart though you work in a loud environment, say in a factory, cogen, or processing plant?  Of course He can.  His still small voice is audible because it is perceived not by the ears, but by our hearts.  But when our ears are occupied with listening and the mind becomes involved, our hearts can be dull to perceive.  When I was a kid, people were going from vinyl to 8-track tapes.  Then it was cassettes and now CD's.  Silent films became talking pictures, and now we have big-screen T.V.s with surround sound.  It used to be you had to carry a boom box with 8 "D" batteries around to bring your tunes with you:  then it was a Walkman, mp3 player, and now any number of I pods.  We have laptops, portable DVD players, projectors to connect to your mobile phone, and everything makes noise.  Like the Grinch, the thing I hate the most is the noise, Noise, NOISE!

I'm not an hater of these modern innovations.  But I believe that they can thieve our time and our hearts away from God and time spent quietly with Him.  Instead of "instinctively" turning on the radio or putting in your ear buds (even if it is to listen to a sermon!), try not doing it.  And while you are not creating extra noise, focus your heart and mind upon your Savior.  When is the last time you actually heard His still small voice?  If you haven't been listening for it, I bet it's been awhile.  This should not make you feel guilty.  No, it should fill your heart with a joyful expectancy:  what is God going to say to you today?  Our eyes are never satisfied with seeing, nor our ears with hearing.  But when God speaks, it brings a satisfaction to the soul which transcends the feeding of our physical appetites.  It touches our purpose.  We were created by God to have a relationship with Him.

As I sit here hearing the fan in my computer case whirring along, I recognize how rare silence is.  Be aware of things which rob you of quiet time with the LORD.  Seek silent time with God, just you and Him.  He's speaking.  The question is:  am I listening for Him?