Turn Down the Volume So I Can Hear!
By: J. B. Hixson, Ph.D.
March 11, 2010

God is our refuge and strength, A very present help in trouble. ...Be still, and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth! (Psalm 46:1, 10)

We took the children to the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo last night.  It is always an enjoyable outing.  By nearly unanimous vote, the favorite event was bull riding.  Only two cowboys managed to hang on for the entire eight seconds.  What fun it was to see the look in the kids' eyes and the expressions on their faces as they watched the events unfold in the arena.  For me, it was even more fun listening to their comments. 

My 10 year old son Morgan is known for his decidedly uninhibited outlook on life and the correspondingly transparent comments such an outlook engenders.  If you know anything about being in a large sports arena with 50,000 screaming fans, you know how hard it can be to carry on a conversation-even with a person sitting right next to you.  At one point during the rodeo last night, Morgan leaned over to me and shouted above the deafening din of the crowd, "Dad!  All this noise is great.  I can burp really loud and nobody can hear me!"

It's true.  Sometimes the volume can be too loud to hear.  It is counterintuitive, really.  We normally think of turning the volume up when we can't hear it.  But if it is too loud, it distorts the message and may very well drown out other important information.  Not that a burp is particularly important, but you get the idea.

And so it is with our spiritual lives as well.  Often our focus can be so distracted by the hustle and bustle of life, by the deafening din of everyday activities, that we miss the voice of the Spirit.  That was the case with Israel many centuries before Christ.  The leaders of Israel were engaged in loud and intense conversations among themselves and with other nations in an effort to defend themselves against enemy attacks.  But the Lord reminded them through the Psalmist that if they would only stop striving, God would be their refuge and strength. 

"Be still!" God said, "And know that I am God.  I will take care of you.  I will be your refuge.  I will defend you and exalt My Name above all the earth."  The verb "be still" is a Hebrew word that literally means "stop fighting so hard."  Do you realize that our well intentioned efforts to serve the Lord may actually drown out His voice if we are not careful? 

Sometimes we need to treat life like a giant railroad crossing: Stop!  Look! And Listen!  Stop striving.  Look into His Word.  And listen to what He has to say.  Has it been a while since you heard the calming voice of the Spirit in your life?  Maybe it's time to turn down the volume and tune your heart to His voice-the voice of the Bible.  God's Word is rich with comfort, guidance and answers to all of life's problems.