Drowning Out the Quiet

Do you have one of these by your bed too? I am embarrassed to admit how dependent I am on the noise from my tower fan to drown out the quiet. And it’s not even turned towards my bed. Nope, this fan’s sole purpose is to lull me to sleep.

Don’t know exactly what happened the other night, but after my prayer time I went to bed without turning on the fan and went straight to sleep. What’s up with that?

The following morning my golden retriever woke me much earlier than usual. After opening the door for her to go outside, I decided to snooze for a bit longer. As soon as my head hit the pillow, I realized it was too quiet.

Oh, yeah. The fan wasn’t on. As I slid from under the covers to punch the button—in the quietness of the pre-dawn—the Holy Spirit spoke:

Why turn on the fan and drown out the quiet? Why add a distraction to what could be a precious time alone with your Father?

     Could the fan hinder me from a warm encounter with the Lord Almighty? Could the noise that serves as a sleep-aid muffle the voice of God? That thought never occurred to me; however, I had to admit that often times I do run away from intimate encounters with God. Even though He knows all, fessing up to my weaknesses can be difficult.

Why run “from” God, when I had the opportunity to run “into” the safety of His presence and warm embrace?

How often do we miss God’s voice when sidetracked by the noise and distractions around us? Proverbs 4:26-27 (NLT) says it so well: Mark out a straight path for your feet; stay on the safe path. Don’t get sidetracked; Keep your feet from following evil. The safest path is that one where we can walk hand in hand with our Heavenly Father. But sometimes I loose my focus and stray. Wandering from His presence, I lose sight of Him and the sound of His voice. I get sidetracked out there on my own and become an easy target for the Evil One.

In the silence of my bedroom, without the fan to drown out the quiet, I heard the whispers of the Holy Spirit. Soft words urging me to run for safety, into the arms of my Father’s loving embrace. Yes, I could have heard those whispers even with the fan on full blast, but, in the stillness, I heard that invitation to run to Him loud and clear.

As I have previously mentioned, one of the ways I hear from God is through song lyrics. In the quiet of the morning, I heard Hillsong United serenading me with “Forever Reign.”

Oh, I’m running to your arms

I’m running to your arms

The riches of your love will always be enough

Nothing compares to your embrace

Light of the world forever reign.

How easily we can wind up in trouble when we take our eyes and ears away from that safe path. Yes, the clamor of the world can cause us to take our focus off of God—away from His holy presence and the security of His warm embrace. We allow our ears to hear the grumblings all around instead of His truths and promises. Oh, the dangers of getting sidetracked!

My fan will still be on at night to lull me to sleep. But during my waking hours, I hope to keep the noise of everyday life from drowning out valuable quiet time with my Heavenly Father. As we are reminded in “Forever Reign,” He is the Light of the world and I want to remain in that light, in His holy presence. From one who knows what the darkness is like, I never want to go there again. Thanks be to God that He is patiently waiting on me to run into His arms.

Am I the only one who likes some noise at night? Besides the old fashioned fan, there are countless sleep sound-machines or phone apps (like White Noise). What is your favorite?

 

 

2 responses to “Drowning Out the Quiet

  1. My mom used sound to help her stay focused on something other than her deep rooted fears of abandonment both during the day and at night. The idea was that if she heard things other than her own negative fears, it helped her. In fact, even today she can’t sleep without the radio or tv on. Growing up I lived in this house where noise abounded 24-7. And so, I have learned to basque in the quietness.
    I love it and find that it is key to hearing God.

    How beautiful it is to hear the voice of The Lord, to hear him whisper you name! And of course, run into His arms! God speaks to me in songs a lot too. May the Lord Bless you today, Brenda.

    Like

  2. Thanks for your comment, Barbara! God will speak to us, no matter what the circumstances, but it seems, lately, He has been nudging me to rest in the quiet. Very cool how He works!

    Like

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