My sister recently asked us to care for her birds while she’s on a road trip. We now have her two lovely—and very vocal—canaries next to the window in our family room. I sent a friend a recording of a particularly long series of loud and varied songs yesterday. And the reply? “Quick! Throw a towel over the cage!” The idea was to quiet down what many would label an annoying distraction. It might wear off in a week, but for now, we find their songs novel entertainment!
People respond differently to what they hear. As I grew up, my mom loved to play all kinds of music on our stereo’s six-foot Bose speakers. She frequently played beautiful classical or upbeat folk music. But more than once, I recall my dad complaining about “all the noise.” Something that uplifted my mom was just noise to him.
I felt exactly the same when visiting my mother-in-law. She kept a TV on frequently, tuned to the news or sports. What may have felt engrossing to her was just a racket in my ears. My wife and I felt similarly walking through a casino on a work trip to Las Vegas. While the sounds of hundreds of video slots might cause a gambler’s heart to race, to us it constituted nothing but a cacophony.
Such audio filtering applies equally to voices. Many may recall Charles Schultz’s Peanuts animated cartoons. Anytime adults or teachers spoke, instead of understandable words, it sounded like “wah-wah, wah-wah, wah-wah,” simulating what adults likely sounded like to the children.
Jesus once encountered something similar in John 12:28-30. He had just prayed out loud in front of a multitude, “Father, glorify Thy name,” and God responded in an audible voice from heaven, saying, “I have both glorified it, and will glorify it again.” But the words were unintelligible to the large crowd before Him. God Himself spoke from heaven, and they just thought it had thundered! They were not attuned to God’s voice, even though Jesus said He’d spoken for their sake, not His.
In Luke 8:18, Jesus exhorted, “Take heed how you hear.” You see, God still speaks to people, including you and me! John 10:27 says, “My sheep hear My voice.” But for many who are indifferent or unattuned, it may sound like “wah wah wah” or their own thoughts—mere head noise.
If you want to hear God more, tune into His voice. Spend time becoming familiar with the kinds of things He says to His children this side of the cross. If you’ve been born again, you have the Holy Spirit inside you, and God can communicate with you spirit-to-spirit. It may come as an impression, an urge, or an inner voice or knowing, but it will never contradict His nature or His Word. His voice will never sound condemning, accusing, or induce guilt or shame. Those messages come from our enemy! Instead, God’s words ring full of grace and truth, spoken in love–they’re life-giving.
So, listen up! His voice is your lifeline–because the truth is, “Man shall not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God” (Matthew 4:4).
Thanks, JB & Carrie – it made me think, “I need SPIRITUAL hearing aids!” 🙂