"...And behold, the LORD passed by, and a great and strong wind tore into the mountains and broke the rocks in pieces before the LORD, but the LORD was not in the wind; and after the wind an earthquake, but the LORD was not in the earthquake; and after the earthquake a fire, but the LORD was not in the fire; and after the fire a still small voice..." -1 Kings19:11,12
Fellow blogger and photographer, Dan Denardo of Dan Denardo Photography (http://danieldenardo.blogspot.com/ ), shared with me a concern commented on from his pastor's pulpit: This minister cautioned against lives cluttered with clamor, lives which leave little room for listening, in which God's voice is, for the most part, obfuscated and obscured.
As I write this, even at this late hour, layers of sound surround me...Nat King Cole's "Destination Moon" is bellowing into my cranium compliments of Bose, blocking out the banter of Saturday Night Live, my husband's sensory stimulation of choice...the occasional motorist passes by with their too loud music blaring out into the blackness, and my puppies object with a cacophony of caterwauling till the offender fades into the distance.
It would seem that we've insulated ourselves from quietude, armed ourselves against "awkward" silence as against a formidable foe...
...This presents a problem, silence being the backdrop of the Still Small Voice...and still small voices are dreadfully simple to drown out.
To make matters more complicated, our Creator does not seem in the least compelled to compete with this chaos, in our lives, in our churches, in our homes...He feels no pressure to conform to our comfort level or to co-habitate with our other gods, but rather bids us "Come" on His terms, and He is perfectly willing to wait while we decide whom we shall serve.*
In Psalm 46:10, the invitation to know God is precipitated by a posture of stillness.
In Psalm 62:1, David's assurance of salvation exudes from a silently waiting soul.
And in an instance of irony, Peter, the verbose and vocally gifted disciple, compares a quiet spirit with an incorruptible ornament, calling it a very precious commodity in God's computations.*
Yet we have all but completely devalued this hallowed hush, this holy of holies in which we hear His voice, this cleft of the rock where we commune with Christ.
Perhaps it is time to revisit this venue, and in this sacred silence, to hear His voice once again...
shhhhhh.....listen............
*Joshua 24:15
*1 Peter 3:4
*Psalm 4:4
7 comments:
One word:
Beautiful.
A few weeks ago, our Assistant Pastor presented a sermon on this also... I DO enjoy quietness and stillness (especially in the A.M. w/coffee), and yes, it seems as if this is the easiest time to hear that 'still, small voice'. This is why 'muzak' blares at us in the grocery store, car radios, resturants, shopping mall, discount stores. I have known people who simply have a TV or radio on for 'background' noise--what's wrong with the 'sounds of silence'?
oh, and Hindsfeet, thanks for your comments--- ever so encouraging. I truly appreciate them.
Yikes... not sure how to post a link here... but the story entitled 'Marathon Man' was posted on August 14 on www.freshairlife.blogspot.com He's my dentist. Nice person.
Thanks, Dan, and thanks again for adding momentum to this muse...Hope you're able to seize a few moments of stillness for yourself in the busyness of the coming days and weeks away...Here's to all of us having new "ears to hear"...
Peace, friend ><>
Dear Joy, I am SO with you on the AM coffee ritual...That's my time too; you and I are so lucky to have that window afforded to us...My husband good-naturedly calls it my "coffee with Jesus" time (which is appropos, cuz if coffee aint the nectar of the god's, I don't know what is!! ; ) )
I'll go do a search for your Marathon Man story now, looking forward to it! But in the mean time, I'll end with the same thing I ended my comment to Dan with...
Here's to ALL of us having new "ears to hear"...
Peace, friend : )
thanks for your comments--- ever so encouraging. I truly appreciate them. Work from home India
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