A couple of years ago I was surprised to learn that noise pollution was a real thing. If you’re not aware of this, the government addresses this the 1990 Clean Air Act Amendment in title IV. It describes noise pollution as ” Sound becomes unwanted when it either interferes with normal activities such as sleeping, conversation, or disrupts or diminishes one’s quality of life”. In addition to this, “Studies have shown that there are direct links between noise and health. Problems related to noise include stress related illnesses, high blood pressure, speech interference, hearing loss, sleep disruption, and lost productivity. Noise Induced Hearing Loss (NIHL) is the most common and often discussed health effect, but research has shown that exposure to constant or high levels of noise can cause countless adverse health affects. also cite the health effects of noise pollution.( Noise and Its Effects,) by Dr. Alice H. Suter, Administrative Conference of the United States, November 1991) “.
Many of you live in highly populated areas and despite others living in suburban or remote areas, we have another type of noise, digital noise. Our cell phones are always with us, always on. We’re tethered to the phones for life. Everything is digital connected to this. It’s no wonder we feel we’re always “on” and never have a time to reflect or meditate on things we should be focusing more of.
What we’re in need of is an Elijah moment. I define this as where we stop running and start listening. In 1 Kings 19:9-13. After much heartache, chaos and running, Elijah finds himself help up in a cave seeking refuge from all the mayhem. Verse ll-12 reads: “ The Lord said, “Go out and stand on the mountain in the presence of the Lord, for the Lord is about to pass by.” Then a great and powerful wind tore the mountains apart and shattered the rocks before the Lord, but the Lord was not in the wind. After the wind there was an earthquake, but the Lord was not in the earthquake. 12 After the earthquake came a fire, but the Lord was not in the fire. And after the fire came a gentle whisper.”
In order for Elijah to hear the Lord he had to listen intently after the chaos cleared. The Lord whispered to Elijah so that he would lean in and listen intently. In order for us to hear God’s voice clearly we also need to set time aside in a quite place and lean into his voice. Psalm 46:10 remind us of this “Be still, and know that I am God;”.
Encouragement:
Our Creator wants an intimate and eternal relationship with us. He desires for us to know him thoroughly.
FX3 Daily D::
Read: We were made for relationship and a relationship requires conversation and time.
Pray: Take time today to commit to an Elijah moment set aside 5 min of quite time to reflect and listen.
Meditate / Make It Real: Commit to working on this relationship for a lifetime. There is no other way to strengthen a relationship that to invest into it. Start with 5 min a day fr a week, then a month, then a year. Be intentional about the time. Schedule it as a non-negotiable.
