Years ago I lived in a New York apartment where my neighbor — a young woman, upper 20’s — frequently played music at obscenely high levels of volume at night. I politely confronted her one evening, and she gave her logic behind her habitual, nocturnal, and ear-splitting sonic excursions. A social worker by profession — after enduring great emotional upheaval from her caseload during the day — she believed the music provided an escape.
In a spiritual context, I’ve thought of the times I’ve allowed diversions, good in themselves — music, television, cell phone, computer, and social media — to evade God’s call to truth.
“Be still and I know I am God”, the Lord says in Psalms 46:10. For me, this is a comforting and frightening passage. I’m beginning to discover the reason I and others may perceive silence as more threatening than inviting.
In stillness, I’m forced to see myself. I’m challenged with pure, raw, and unadulterated reality. He waits for me there. David says in Psalm 42:7, “Deep calls to deep in the roar of Your waterfalls; all Your waves and breakers have swept over me. God is beckoning me to get real.
In the Old Testament, God met Jacob face to face and asked, “What is your name?” or “Who are you?” (Genesis 32:27). God didn’t ask out of ignorance. He wanted Jacob to discover his real identity. The name Jacob means “trickster” or “deceiver”. Before his encounter, Jacob duped his father, Isaac, into bestowing upon him a blessing belonging to his brother, Esau (Genesis 27:1-46).
Jacob responded, saying his name. In other words, Jacob essentially admits, “God, you have accurately identified me as a trickster and a deceiver. This is who I am.” The word confession, according to the Merriam-Webster dictionary, is a written or oral acknowledgment of guilt by a party accused of an offense.
With Jacob’s realization and admission, God replied, “Your name will no longer be called Jacob, but Israel for you have struggled with God and with humans and have overcome.” The name is Israel means prince. Once Jacob placed himself in a posture to hear God’s voice, God could change from a deceiver to a prince.
The apostle Paul wrote in 2 Timothy 3:16, “All Scripture is given by inspiration of (or breathed out by) God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness that the man of God may be complete, thoroughly equipped for every good work.”
The primary methods God uses to communicate are prayer and His written word. James 1:23 describes the scripture as a mirror to show ourselves as we are. In Hebrews 4:12, the word is a “living and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the division of soul and spirit, and of joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.”
In 1 Kings 19:11-12, God invited the prophet, Elijah, to a one-on-one meeting. Then came a powerful wind, an earthquake, and a fire. However, God appeared through a gentle whisper.
We’ll hear God’s voice when we’re willing to listen. Is it possible we use diversions to avoid prayer and study scripture to drown out His voice? He wants to deal with hurts and sins we should confess and forsake. We shouldn’t be afraid of silence because He speaks out of love.
Renown author C.S. Lewis said, “In silence and in meditation on the eternal truths, I hear the voice of God which excites our hearts to greater love.” Here’s God great, eternal truth about us from 1 Peter 2:10, “Once you had no identity as a people; now you are God’s people. Once you received no mercy; now you have received God’s mercy.”
God is our Friend. He wants to bond with us. He waits to heal, forgive, and restore. In this fast-paced culture, He invites us to slow down. When we know Him better, we’ll know who we are and who we can become.
