A Quiet Heart Amidst Surrounding Noises
Everything around you may be noisy, but you can still cultivate a quiet heart. People who reside in big cities are surrounded by loud sounds, day and night, wherever they are. Not only in the inner city, but all around, the noise of traffic, of loud music, and of people going to and fro, talking in high tones, can be heard.
According to Dr. Wayne E. Oates, “a noise is any sound that you do not want or that comes between you and something to which you have chosen to listen.” Obviously, certain noises are to be expected; many cannot be avoided at certain times of the day. The problem is when they persist through the long hours of any night. Worse yet, is when they prevent one from hearing what is most essential and needed!
In contemporary culture, loudness receives a far greater welcome than silence. Some people cannot live with themselves in a tranquil environment: radio, television, cell phones, and other loud echoes permeate their space, day or night. If momentary quietness ensues, new, intrusive tones are swiftly created to fill a vacuum which any noise, per se, cannot satisfactorily resolve.
Several people, however, long for a vacation, especially because of the possibility of withdrawing from the common and never-ceasing allurements of daily life. Jesus Himself occasionally invited His disciples to “come apart and rest a while,” whenever the multitudes pressed too hard on them. In the Gospels we also find Him avoiding crowds, sometimes, in favor of silent solaces for Himself and members of His inner circle.
Psalm 46 invites its readers to “be still,” especially to recognize and understand the voice of God. Indeed, at any age, certain distractions seem to compete with God as He seeks to draw our attention to what is most essential in life. As the Good Shepherd, the Savior leads His own to quiet waters, and to settings where rest, meditation, and recovery are possible.
According to Ricardo Barbosa de Sousa, a Brazilian Presbyterian minister and author, “Today, what defines the spirituality of a modern Christian is an agenda replete with commitments which occupy one’s entire day with meetings, evangelistic work, talks, visits, etc.” And he laments that! He also recognizes that this is usually a symptom of a restless heart, unable and often not desirous to hear the voice of God. He adds: “To hear the verdict God has about us, demands from us the silencing of other voices and noises, so we may hear only the voice of God.”
Twenty-century Jewish writer and philosopher, Franz Kafka, had commented that “the Fathers of the Church were not afraid to go out into the desert because they had a richness in their hearts. But we, with richness all around us, are afraid, because the desert is in our hearts.”
Outward, discordant vibrations will ever exist; in fact, some shall increase. The main task for the child of God is to nurture silence even in the midst of other distractions. Only so may one discern and never miss the voice of God which comes with unique distinctness, as one communes with Him and His infallible Word. Even today His whispers may impact us through “a still, small voice.” For that, just avoid all unnecessary, blasting sirens!
