“When the people saw this, they fell prostrate and cried, “The Lord- He is God! The Lord- He is God.” I Kings 18:39
Bam! I slammed the door shut and turned on the machine. Screech.
Screech!
Screeech!
In a vain attempt to contain the chaotic chirping, I quickly exited and closed the laundry room door. Outside in the hallway a chorus caught my attention: our parakeets were loudly squawking. They each were implementing the calling chirp they sounded when separated from one another. Only a quick glance at the cage confirmed no one had escaped; no, they were together calling a greeting to the squawking ‘bird’ in the laundry room: the old clothes dryer.
Their mistaken identification of a friend surprised and delighted me. I laughed at them.
But then I realized how we humans are no better than the birds! We often mistake noises of this world for the voice of God.
In Genesis 16 Abram listened to Sarai as she patiently outlined her plan for how God would fulfill His promise of numerous descendents. Sarai was too old to bear children, so Abram should marry her servant Hagar, and Sarai and Abram would build a family through her. We don’t read of Abram praying over this. (Do I pray over every detail when the plans appear logical?)
In Jonah 1, Jonah didn’t like his assignment. His feelings were warring inside him. He had to get away, and get far away fast. He allowed his voice in his head to dictate his actions, instead of listening to the voice of God.
In I Kings 18, the priests of Baal were completely confident they were worshipping and living for the right god. It was what had always been done. It was tradition. It was their culture. Why question it? They later learned they had listened to the wrong voice.
This world is full of noise. The noise of a bustling workplace. The never-ending noise of children living in our homes. The deafening noise of feelings warring inside the head. We hear voices, noises, all the time. Who, what should we listen to?
Our dear birds have flown into the laundry room many times in search of their hidden friend. They search and call, but unless the dryer is running, they receive no response aside from our family’s consoling words of comfort. They seem to have trouble distinguishing our broken dryer from another bird.
But for us, as God’s children, we have been given instructions on how to distinguish the noise. Next week we’ll explore the how of distinguishing the voices. This week, let’s identify what voices are vying for our attention.
Reflections:
- What are the predominant voices I listen to?
- Do I, in my expectant search for meaning, mistake the voice that answers?
- How easy is it for me to not question the validity of the voices?
Prayer: Dear Heavenly Father, Thank You that You promise that You note each sparrow that falls from the sky. And yet, how much more precious am I to You than that sparrow. Thank you for Your words of true wisdom, and please help me to not only read, and understand what they mean for me, but to mull them over in my heart, and implement them in my life. Please help me learn to listen for Your voice of truth. In Jesus’ name, Amen.