UNPLUG THE AMBIENT NOISE


Read: 1 Kings 19:9-13 
"“Be still, and know that I am God. I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth!” Psalm 46:10 ESV 
Sometimes, when the pace of life overwhelms me, I just step outside, close my eyes and open my ears. To gain a measure of calm in a frenetic world, it is a comfort just to let the soft sounds carried on the breeze wash over me like a breaking wave. 
In the pre-dawn hours, I listen to the chirping of the crickets and the birds singing their sweet songs as if to welcome the new day. In the afternoon and evening, as the waning sunlight sweeps over me, I listen to the Kansas wind sweeping through the grass, rustling the trees, and flapping the flags high on the poles. At any time of day, in Kansas, too, it is not unusual to hear livestock calls in the distance, whinnies, moos, and bleating, even in more populated areas. 
In these indescribably serene moments, I am almost saddened when the splattered paint of more frantic modern noises make their way in to the audio masterpiece – the buzz of cell phones, the clicking of keyboards, the roaring of cars speeding by down the streets. 
It is in those times I often try to take my mind back to the prairie of 150 years ago – a time before the ambient noises of "progress" started cluttering the breeze. I cannot help but wonder what it would sound like to the dissonance of technology was not a part of the symphony of sound. 
When, in my mind's eye, I do manage to turn the modern world off, it is a treasure beyond words to listen to the Concerto of the Creator. Every note is perfectly in tune, every instrument his hand has crafted playing it's part in the Opus magnificently. Each creature sings its own song as the wind carries the tune through the foliage. And in the storm, the thunder and lightning, drive home to symphony with a majestic percussion as the rain pelts the ground. 
There is no greater sound to me than this symphony, because it is when the ambient noise is turned to zero that I can most clearly hear His voice whispering peace into my heart. It the most profound silences is His love most clearly heard. 
Maybe you are wondering today why you struggle to hear His voice through the chaos.  
If you are today, perhaps you just need to turn down the ambient racket of the modern world, and turn up the master work composed and conducted by the Master's hands. 
I promise you, when you do, you will never have heard a more beautiful sound. 
Prayer: Lord, as I struggle to hear you in the midst of the chaos, help to turn down the noise of the world around me, and just open the beautiful, silent moments to your voice. 

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