Readings for today: Luke 10, John 10:1-11:54
“My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me.” (John 10:27)
Noise. There’s a lot of it in our lives. From the moment our alarm clocks go off until we finally put down the phone or turn off the television at the end of the night, our lives are full of noise. So many voices. Telling us all kinds of things. Much of it not good for us. The bully at school who tells us we’re worthless. The co-worker who’s so negative all the time. The spouse who badgers or berates us. The child who screams when they don’t get their way. The commercials that tempt us to think life is all about us. The subliminal messages coming through on social media that constantly invite comparison. The news outlets spinning world events to bolster a particular worldview. The proliferation of fake news, gossip, and a rumor mill run wild. And I don’t know about you but it feels like someone cranked the volume in the last several months. Probably due to a confluence of factors such as COVID, election year, economic uncertainty, and mental distress. It’s getting harder and harder to hear the still, small voice of God.
Can you hear Him? Can you hear His voice? Amidst all the noise and distractions? When was the last time you sat in silence? I mean true silence. No one around. No devices present to distract. No radio. No television. No social media. Just you and God sitting in silence together. “My sheep hear my voice…” Perhaps one of the main reasons we struggle so much with our faith is we do not take the time to listen for God’s voice. We expect Him to compete with all the other voices in our lives. Shout them down. Yell over the top of them. We expect Him to make Himself known to us but we refuse to create space in our lives for that to happen. Instead, we expect Him to push His way in. Elbow His way to the front of the line. Then and only then will we turn and acknowledge Him.
Jesus doesn’t work that way. There’s a great story from the Old Testament about a man named Elijah. He went out to meet with God. A great storm whipped up. God wasn’t in the storm. A great fire raged. God wasn’t in the fire. A great earthquake shook the very ground. God wasn’t in the earthquake. Then a still small voice. Elijah covered his head. He knew he was hearing the voice of God. “My sheep hear my voice…” Do you want to hear the voice of God? Make time for solitude and silence in your life.
For me, this is happening in the early mornings. I sit in my favorite chair in my office looking out my window at the front range. The sun comes up. The sky turns blue. The deer graze up the hillside. I don’t have any agenda. I just sit with hands open to the Lord. Letting Him speak. Sure, it’s hard. I have all kinds of voices in my head that demand my attention. What I’ve found is that I simply have to wait them out. If I sit long enough, they do begin to quiet down and space is made in my mind and heart for the Lord to enter in. That’s usually when I open God’s Word or journal or pray through our church directory. I think about what’s on tap for the day. The meetings. The conversations. The issues I’m facing. I ask myself some questions. What am I excited about? Nervous about? Who will I be meeting with and how can I serve them? What challenges will I be facing and how do they make me feel? And then I lay those feelings before the Lord. I ask Him to speak into them. Sometimes He does. Sometimes He simply reaches out and takes my hand. Let’s me know He’ll be with me no matter what.
My sheep hear my voice. I know them. They follow me. There’s nothing more comforting than walking through life with the Good Shepherd at your side.
Readings for tomorrow: Luke 12:1-13:30