By Lisa Wilmore
To God be the glory for all He has done! It is always a joy and an honor to share what the Lord places in my heart. You are dear to me, and my prayer is that God speaks clearly to you through this message.
Recently, I sat in silence with no distractions, no phone, no music, no conversation. As I sat quietly, I began to hear the delicate sounds around me: the hum of the ceiling fan, cars passing by, the air conditioner cycling, and even the low buzz of the refrigerator. Though I had set out to find peace, I quickly realized that even in silence, I was surrounded by noise.
That moment reminded me how often we are spiritually overwhelmed, not just by external noise, but by the noise within. There is a constant chatter in our minds that pulls our attention away from God such as thoughts of fear, worry, doubt, guilt, or even thoughts of an individual, etc. These thoughts often infiltrate our minds without us even realizing it, and before long, we are struggling. We struggle to focus on His divine will. We struggle to worship without distraction. Therefore, we struggle to hear His voice. The internal noise can become so loud that even when our environment is quiet, our minds are in turmoil. The songwriter and psalmist, Jordan G. Welch, sings a song entitled, “Silence the noise in my mind, and Open the eyes of my heart, Lord.” Wow! When the noise in our minds is silent and the eyes of our hearts are open, then we can hear the Voice of our Lord and Savior-Jesus.
My friends, casting our thoughts down is essential to hearing and understanding God’s direction for our lives. Scripture reminds us to cast down imaginations and take every thought captive to the obedience of Christ (2 Corinthians 10:5). The enemy loves to use mental noise to confuse and distance us from God. But God is not the author of confusion. Oftentimes, God’s voice is found not in the chaos, but in stillness, just like when He spoke to Elijah in a still small voice in 1 Kings 19:12. Although Elijah was desperate to hear from God, the Lord was not in the wind, the earthquake, or the fire. Instead, He came in a still small voice. Elijah had to be silent enough to hear Him; and so do we.
We must yield to God and ask Him to “Silence the noise in my life.” Quiet the distractions that cloud my mind and keep me from hearing You clearly, and help me to be still and rest in the assurance that You are God.
Even in a noisy world, God is always speaking. The question is, are we silent enough to hear Him?
