Category: Devotions

The Art of Noise

"And after the earthquake there was a fire, but the LORD was not in the fire. And after the fire there was the sound of a gentle whisper."  1 Kings 19:12

 

I hear from God.  Sometimes He is always speaking, other times not so much.  A lot of times I have so much noise, so many distractions in my life and heart that I cannot hear Him speaking. 

 

God speaks to all of us.  I have learned that God has allowed some unsettling situations, difficult experiences, and quite frankly, destruction to wreak havoc in my life just to get my attention.  I realized that though I have a relationship with God, I demoted Him.  God was not number one in my life–no He came a distant second to whatever I happened to be dwelling or focusing on at that moment.  From work, to family, to school, and let me not exclude them, relentless pursuit of a relationship…they have all taken precedence over God at different times in my life.  And when anything does that, that is noise for you because you will not be able to hear from God clearly.  I have even lost what I felt was seeking His will to become noise for me, noise to not give Him the time, attention, and affection He needs.

 

My last nearly three years back in South Carolina have been tumultuous to say the least, from my surgery to my cousin and dad's deaths, to finally having a plan and perspective for my life.  But at the heart of these things has been the call of God drawing me back in relationship with Him.  Yet instead I focused on each event–the noise, most definitely the negatives of these situations, rather than seeking God's purpose for each event.  We have to acknowledge life for what it is because it would be foolish to walk around in denial.  However, the distinction is that we can walk alone and continue to live in a noisy world, without God's guidance and direction, straying ever so far away from His planned destination.  Or we can cling to God in the midst of each situation and learn more about the person God is creating us to be.  We can learn to love ourselves in the reflection of God's presence–because God is love.  We can step out of the noisy room and get quiet.  For me, God sent me on trips…go figure…where I would inadvertently be alone, and He would speak crystal clear so that I could not deny Him being there.

Noise can be used to create some of the most beautiful things.  Look at the precious stones created after the explosion of volcanoes.  I most certainly know that God has created in me some beautiful things, out of the hard, painful things life has dealt to me.  I realize though that it is through the noise that I have learned to listen more carefully. 

 

"Listen and hear my voice; pay attention and hear what I say." Isaiah 28:24 NIV

In Uncharted Waters

 

"Your own ears will hear him. Right behind you a voice will say, "This is the way you should go," whether to the right or to the left."  Isaiah 30:21 NLT

 

Hey!!!!! Today is a great day.  It started off great, got a little bumpy, but its gotten better and I have to thank God.  This is a new place for me.  I've never been in a place of praying and trusting first, then acting.  I've always been a go-getter, a solve the problem and act type of person.  I admit I am a control freak, lol. I can fix everyone else's problems but I finally had to realize I could not fix my own…and that mess hurts!  Although this very seldom applies to me, because I have a great sense of direction, I have had the occasion of being lost once or twice.  Now I know plenty of people who cannot say the same.  But when you get lost, after you didn't follow the directions you were given, or if you were bold and went the trip without even asking, do you humble yourself and use your GPS/ask directions, or do you keep driving past the same gas station in arrogance?

 

Today I realize I am in a new place.  Its uncomfortable by every standard–I'm forced to be patient and wait, I'm forced to let go and let God, I'm forced to forgive and start over.  Yes, I have a choice in all of this, I could step out of God's covering and do what I want.  I could voice my opinions and desires and potentially lose a valuable friend.  I could ignore the pressing need for me to forgive and let go of all my hurts that stem from my father's passing, and potentially die from the negative effects of unforgiveness.  I could take all of my mess back from God and try to fix it myself, and put myself in a worse hole.  But I'm deciding this time to go God's way.  Why?  Because truthfully I am tired of running things, time to let someone else make all the decisions and I follow.  I'm tired of being that go-to person for every single person and feeling burned out when I get to my own stuff.  I'm tired of hurting after I tried to do something my way and got scarred when I fell down.

 

Now I can clearly hear God as I am in the midst of this storm.  It has the potential to be turbulent–in fact, it is turbulent, in my mind and heart as they are both heavy right now.  But the good thing is that God is steering the ship and He knows the course very well.  He knows where I am going and He knows how to get me there safely with everything I need.  Hopefully at the end of this leg of the journey, I'll be a much wiser and stronger person–but I can trust and rest assured that I will because trusting in God grows and stretches my faith.  It is tough, Lord knows it is, but I want to say I'm happy and at peace with where I am going, because I waited on God's direction.

 

"He guides the humble in what is right and teaches them his way." Psalm 25:9 NIV