How to Live Above the Noise: Hear, Listen, Obey

Have you ever been somewhere and thought, it’s so noisy in here I can’t even think? Would you like to know how to live above the noise? There are so many voices in the earth vying for our attention. Some are for good; others for evil. We need to be able to discern the difference and learn to live above all of that noise. Webster’s dictionary defines noise as “loud, confused, or senseless shouting or outcry”.
God has already given us a way to live above all the loud, confusing and senseless shouting. Here’s how.

1. Take a knee: In the movie After Earth the character played by actor Will Smith tells his son to ‘take a knee’. His son, actually played by his biological son, Jaden, is anxious and afraid. In having him ‘take a knee’ he is allowing him to take a moment to refocus so he can follow the instructions which ultimately saves his life. Taking a knee is not just a physical position. It is a heart position. 1 peter 5:6-7 tells us to “humble yourselves, therefore, under god’s mighty hand, that he may lift you up in due time. Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you.” God has a way of helping us ‘take a knee’, release our anxiety, and focus on his voice.

2. Take time to commune with God. While working on my Masters in Theology I studied basic Hebrew. One of the first scriptures we learned was the ‘Shema’ (Deuteronomy 6:4-9). The first line of the Shema is fundamental to the Jewish faith. The Shema is an affirmation and declaration of faith in the one true God. The Shema is not just about hearing; it also means to listen and to obey what you hear. Therefore to live above the noise we must do all three when having a conversation with God. Jesus said I can only say what my Father tells me to say and how to say it (John 12:49). Jesus often went into the wilderness alone to pray. (Mark 1, 6, 14; Luke 4, 5, 6). We should do likewise.

3. Take action. Use your spiritual weapons. “The weapons we fight with are not the weapons of the world. On the contrary, they have divine power to demolish strongholds”. (2 Corinthians 10:4) When tempted, Jesus used spiritual weapons against the enemy; He used the word. Our spiritual weapons include the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. (Ephesians 6:17) We are not to stand silently by while being bombarded with all the noisy confusion this world has to offer. We must take action.

In the natural world,  there is active noise canceling technology, which is “a method for reducing unwanted sound by the addition of a second sound specifically designed to cancel the first”.
I recently purchased a new car and one of the features is Active Noise Cancellation. The premise is that you no longer have to be concerned about being distracted by loud engine or road noise. If we follow God’s plan we have our own form of active noise cancellation. We must take a knee (humble ourselves), take the time to talk, hear, listen, and finally, obey by taking action.

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