Do you ever feel like the world is full of noise?
Do you ever feel overwhelmed by the things happening around you?
I know I have felt like sometimes, with how much I pay attention to world events, and news, and politics, and the general way the public interacts with one another, that the world is just too loud. There is just way too much noise out there. Frankly, sometimes the noise can be deafening; the chaos can seem like a loud speaker in your ear, that just doesn't want to stop. You want to talk to someone about the noise, but there is just too much of the noise for a person you trust to hear you, and you have a hard time hearing them.
But the solution to this problem is simple. It is kind of like the analogy I allude to from the book of John, on the opening HOME page of this website:
John 1: 5 The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.
But we are talking about sound, and being able to listen and be heard...right?
Does the Bible say anything about that?
It turns out, it does.
John 8:47
Whoever belongs to God hears what God says. The reason you do not hear is that you do not belong to God.
I John 5:14
This is the confidence we have in approaching God: that if we ask anything according to His will, He hears us.
There are various verses in the Bible that talk more about us listening to God, and God listening to us, but I think these sum it up best...because if we take these words to heart, we can get past all the noise if we focus on the root meanings of these verses. In many ways, all the NOISE is a lot like the DARKNESS; it is all around us in this fallen world. God tells us that Jesus is the light of the world. All it takes is one small candle to light up a whole room.
But how do we deal with the noise?
John and 1 John tell us. First of all, do you belong to God? If one belongs to God, they are open to the Word of God, therefore they hear what He says. One can 'hear' God through prayer, but also perhaps that inner voice that folks think of as their conscience. One can also hear God by reading His word. If a person is not willing to acknowledge that they belong to God, according to scripture, then they will not be able to hear Him. And how do we know He hears us? According to 1 John, we can be confident He hears us when we ask anything according to His will. They kind of go together, don't they?
If one doesn't acknowledge God, they aren't accepting Him for who He says He is. We actually CHOOSE to belong to God. And if we belong to God, then His will should be kind of important in our lives, shouldn't it?
Look - I am not saying it is easy to put God first all the time, because we have all fallen short; none of us are perfect. I am not saying it is easy to remember we belong to God all the time.
BUT - I am saying that if we can remember to keep our priorities straight, or just remember WHO we are to turn to, the answer to the problem is not hard to find.
We live in the Information Age; we are all inundated with social media, TV media, cell phone media, information from work, information from all sorts of entertainment, misinformation from all sorts of world leaders and so-called experts in everything. We hear all the troubles our own friends and family face; we are all made aware on a weekly basis I am sure, of the sufferings of the world, and the sufferings of those we know and love. Even as I type this, I am reminded of a good friend's situation with his family, and the frustrations of medical complications and medical conditions, and healthcare in general. We all hear of the saber rattling between nations, whether it be because of economic differences, political differences, or religious differences. We all hear the NOISE of violence somewhere in our lives, whether it is up close and personal, or out there in the streets and neighborhoods, off in the distance.
Yes, it can be noisy out there.
But do you belong to God? Do you believe in His will? Answer those questions the right way, according to the Bible, and the communication between you and your Creator can always be a two way street.
As usual, that's just my two cents. God bless all who read this, and have a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.
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