Turn Down the Volume so You Can Hear
By J.B. Hixson, Ph.D.
12/28/2021
God is our refuge and strength, A very present help in trouble. …Be still, and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth! (Psalm 46:1, 10)
Children can say the funniest things. Several years ago, we took our children to the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo. By nearly unanimous vote, the favorite event was bull riding. There were only two cowboys who managed to hang on for the entire eight seconds. What fun it was to see the look in the kids’ eyes and the expressions on their faces as they watched the events unfold in the arena. For me, it was even more fun listening to their comments.
My son Morgan, who was ten years old at the time, is known for his decidedly uninhibited outlook on life and the correspondingly transparent comments such an outlook engenders. If you know anything about being in a large sports arena with 25,000 screaming fans, you know how hard it can be to carry on a conversation—even with a person sitting right next to you. At one point during the rodeo, Morgan leaned over to me and shouted above the deafening clamor of the crowd, “Dad! All this noise is great. I can burp really loud and nobody can hear me!”
It is true. Sometimes the volume can be too loud to hear. It is counterintuitive, really. We normally think of turning the volume up when we cannot hear it. But if it is too loud, it distorts the message and may very well drown out other important information. Not that a burp is particularly important, but you get the idea.
And so it is with our spiritual lives as well. Often our focus can be so distracted by the hustle and bustle of life, by the deafening din of everyday activities, that we miss the voice of the Spirit. That was the case with Israel many centuries before Christ. The leaders of Israel were engaged in loud and intense conversations among themselves and with other nations in an effort to defend themselves against enemy attacks. The Lord reminded them through the psalmist that if they would only stop striving, God would be their refuge and strength.
“Be still!” God said, “And know that I am God. I will take care of you. I will be your refuge. I will defend you and exalt My Name above all the earth.” The verb “be still” is a Hebrew word that literally means “stop fighting so hard.” Do you realize that our well-intentioned efforts to serve the Lord may actually drown out His voice if we are not careful?
Sometimes we need to treat life like a giant railroad crossing: Stop! Look! And Listen! Stop striving. Look into His Word. And listen to what He has to say. Has it been a while since you heard the calming voice of the Spirit in your life? Maybe it is time to turn down the volume and tune your heart to His voice—the voice of the Bible. God’s Word is rich with comfort, guidance and answers to all of life’s problems. Make it a priority this year to get into the Word of God and stay there.
12/28/2021
God is our refuge and strength, A very present help in trouble. …Be still, and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth! (Psalm 46:1, 10)
Children can say the funniest things. Several years ago, we took our children to the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo. By nearly unanimous vote, the favorite event was bull riding. There were only two cowboys who managed to hang on for the entire eight seconds. What fun it was to see the look in the kids’ eyes and the expressions on their faces as they watched the events unfold in the arena. For me, it was even more fun listening to their comments.
My son Morgan, who was ten years old at the time, is known for his decidedly uninhibited outlook on life and the correspondingly transparent comments such an outlook engenders. If you know anything about being in a large sports arena with 25,000 screaming fans, you know how hard it can be to carry on a conversation—even with a person sitting right next to you. At one point during the rodeo, Morgan leaned over to me and shouted above the deafening clamor of the crowd, “Dad! All this noise is great. I can burp really loud and nobody can hear me!”
It is true. Sometimes the volume can be too loud to hear. It is counterintuitive, really. We normally think of turning the volume up when we cannot hear it. But if it is too loud, it distorts the message and may very well drown out other important information. Not that a burp is particularly important, but you get the idea.
And so it is with our spiritual lives as well. Often our focus can be so distracted by the hustle and bustle of life, by the deafening din of everyday activities, that we miss the voice of the Spirit. That was the case with Israel many centuries before Christ. The leaders of Israel were engaged in loud and intense conversations among themselves and with other nations in an effort to defend themselves against enemy attacks. The Lord reminded them through the psalmist that if they would only stop striving, God would be their refuge and strength.
“Be still!” God said, “And know that I am God. I will take care of you. I will be your refuge. I will defend you and exalt My Name above all the earth.” The verb “be still” is a Hebrew word that literally means “stop fighting so hard.” Do you realize that our well-intentioned efforts to serve the Lord may actually drown out His voice if we are not careful?
Sometimes we need to treat life like a giant railroad crossing: Stop! Look! And Listen! Stop striving. Look into His Word. And listen to what He has to say. Has it been a while since you heard the calming voice of the Spirit in your life? Maybe it is time to turn down the volume and tune your heart to His voice—the voice of the Bible. God’s Word is rich with comfort, guidance and answers to all of life’s problems. Make it a priority this year to get into the Word of God and stay there.
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