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God speaks all the time, but the only
way to hear his voice is to become silent and listen. That is why the
Bible says, “Be still and know that I am God.”
If I can’t hear God speak, the problem isn’t God; the problem is me.
God speaks all the time, but I am not listening. Sometimes I spend such
a small amount of time listening, I may as well be deaf as far as God’s
voice is concerned.
It’s impossible to have a personal relationship with anyone unless you
talk to them and listen to what they say. In the same way, it’s
impossible to have a relationship with God unless you talk to him and
listen to what He has to say. When I stop listening, I start making bad
choices. If I never become silent and listen, I miss out on God’s plan
for my life. There is no limit to how good my life can become when I
follow God’s plan.
God’s love is eternal and unconditional; I can always count on it being
there. Nevertheless, I have a short memory and must be reminded of it
many times each day. Fellowship with God must be a daily thing. Every
day I must become silent and listen to his voice of love.
Copyright © 2013
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Most people on planet earth have never heard the sound of silence. They
have never been in a location that was totally devoid of sound created
by humans.
If you want a challenge, try to find a place where you can experience
total silence without any sound pollution. It's nearly impossible.
In this picture, I have set up camp several hundred miles off-road in
the Empty Quarter of Arabia. We are far enough into this remote section
of desert that most of the vestiges of humanity are absent except for
our campsite. After the sun goes down, and you lie on your camp cot,
you can sometimes hear the sound of silence. If you hold your breath,
you will hear absolutely nothing. Total silence. This rare moment
doesn't last long because high above your head the faint roar of a
distant aircraft pollutes the silence with sound.
Now that I am back in "uncivilization" working, there is no silence in
my life. No matter where I am, there is noise everywhere. Nearly every
day, I hear boom cars thundering out hundreds of decibels of noise
polluting my not so silent world. They can thank God that I don't have
a Predator drone with a load of Hellfire missiles. I don't know if I
could resist the urge to obliterate their megawoofers as they inflict
their sonic assault on innocent bystanders.
The sonic assault isn't just on the street. Since I came back to "uncivilization",
I carry ear plugs to church to protect my ears from the "divine decibles"
pulsating from the stage at the front of the auditorium. The music is
so loud that I roam through the back of the auditorium trying to find a
safe haven where the surround sound can't damage my hearing.
Maybe I'm old-fashioned, but I like the sound of silence. The only time
I ever feel like I am near God is in those infrequent silent moments
that are so hard to find. For me, the only way to hear God's voice of
love is to become silent and listen.
My cathedral is out in the desert hundreds of miles from "uncivilization"
where I can experience total silence. When a bird flies by, it's so
quiet that I can hear the flutter of his feathers in the wind. When I'm
out there, I'm standing on sacred ground.
As night descends on our campsite,
I feel like I am in a cathedral that stretches from horizon to horizon.
I have a front row seat on eternity as I survey the night sky; many of
the stars that I'm looking at died out millions of years ago, but their
light is only now reaching our side of the milky way galaxy.
In the silence and splendor of the moment, the trivial events of my life
fall away, and the important things come into focus. And if I listen to
the sound of silence, I just might hear God's voice of love.
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The Empty Quarter is one of my favorite places on planet earth. We
usually go from 200 to 500 kilometers into the desert on our week long
trips. Once you are 200 kilometers off-road, the last vestiges of
civilization disappear because it requires too much fuel and water to
live beyond the 200 kilometer limit. You are now in a pristine
no-mans-land, and your sand dreams actually come true
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