Whoever listens to me will live in safety and be at ease, without fear of harm. Psalm 1:32,33
Our lives are full of noise. The ping of the microwave oven tells us our meal is ready, the alarm clock rings – or plays music – to let us know it’s time to get up. Out on the streets the shrieking siren of an ambulance tells us it is speeding to an emergency. On Sunday mornings I am woken by the chimes of a bell from the church across the road. It is always nice to hear a peal of bells celebrating a wedding.
Our brains have the amazing capacity to screen out unwanted noise or to home in on the slightest sound. If I am concentrating on my work I often switch off to the noises around me in the office, people talking on the phone, the photocopier, the printer. Sometimes I need a little time to switch back in, as I suddenly realise someone is talking to me and I haven’t heard a word they have said!
At the other end of sound spectrum, a mother is sensitive to the slightest sound made by her new-born baby. A keen birdwatcher may sit silently for hours just listening, waiting to hear the call of a rare bird. It depends what we are listening out for, how we are tuned in and what we want to hear. A child may hear his mother calling that dinner is ready from half a mile away but be deaf to his mother in the same room telling him it’s time for bed!
The Bible records that God speaks with a sound like thunder (at Jesus’ baptism); a quiet whisper (to Elijah); even singing (‘He will rejoice over you with singing’ Zephaniah 3:17).
How is God speaking to you today? Is he whispering encouragement in your ear, singing a song or rejoicing over you or giving you an alarm call? Are you tuned in to hear his voice or is there too much other noise, distraction or interference for you to hear him?
Prayer:
Almighty God, help me to make time to be still and listen for your voice in my life every day. May I hear you guiding, directing, comforting and correcting me. |
