Our church is going through this series on transformation. I had the opportunity to teach our college class (i was nervous) this past Sunday. We talked a bit about how it is hard for us to hear the voice of God at times because we are so surrounded by noise. Each of us made commitments to spend a portion of our day this week in silence and I decided to drive to work without the radio.
Its driving me crazy.
And then there's this thought of Lent. Jesus and his journey into the wilderness for 40 days.
So even though Jesus didn't have constant background noise (the TV, radio, electronics and machines, cars...) I can only imagine that over a month of solitude and and silence would be a strain...and yet at the end of it all, the one voice that finally breaks the quiet is the voice of the deceiver...Jesus doesn't even let him speak for long.
I am so addicted to noise. Could it be that I am willing to put up with the voice of the deceiver because I am so desperate to break the silence...when I could wait on the still, small voice of the God?
2 comments:
I think you're right on, and I think that the auditory noise we're so used to and feel lonely without is a symptomatic of a broader problem. I was lucky enough to take one communication theory class in college, and I remember how in coms theory "noise" represents anything that interferes with communication. So if noise is anything that interferes with our channel of communication with God ... I wonder where I need to silence my life.
good thought guys. This is something that is really convicting to me. It's so easy to get distracted by noise...whether its, TV, radio, music, and possibly even our own prayers...I think that I am usually more apt to talk in prayer than I am to silently listen for what God has to say...this is actually something that the Quakers practice during every "service." Richard Foster makes some good points about this practice in his book Celebration of Discipline. Just a thought...
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