Be Present Series

When was the last time that you just sat in the silence and waited on God? Every day we are bombarded By noise. In fact, scientists are starting to study what different types of noise do to individuals. If you were to go to my office at work and walk through the behavioral health hallway, you'll see about 5 little machines that are white noise makers that are just making noise to help drown out the sound of voices in the offices to make a more confidential space. There are studies showing that brown noise can help people with ADHD focus more. We are bombarded by noise in so many different levels. And then when we look at the universe, we see that noise is waves that we can't see, and if we increase these to the light spectrum where we can see them, we are then bombarded with. Noise and visual stimuli through tablets and phones and computers and TV's and on and on and on. Our life is a Symphony of things coming at us.

I want to read for you the preface of the book Static Jedi by Eric Tim.

“Noise. It's everywhere. Daily we are bathed in distractions. The noise intensifies. Weaving strings around us and through us until We are dancing under these powerful puppeteers.

These cords can be broken. Pull and tug while we live a pseudo-sense of control. Daily surmounting the noise is getting louder. We discover new noise, new sound.

Rather than protecting the ears of our heart, we drown in each day like the fading tides that daily. Dance with the moon. The noise becomes a deep part of our everyday cycle, our now hurried lives. Once immersed in the noise, we struggle to hear clearly.

In my travels I'm often asked, who am I supposed to be? What is God's will? When do I know where was God? Why can't I hear God? How can I ever move beyond my past on forward?

In this noise, we decide, direct, dictate and die. At one time the noise did so easily roam. Connected was a horse to a cart.

Clarity was vital to life. In any generation there was—is--A deep need for clarity, not circumstantial to surroundings, cycles, events or trends. Continually bathed in noise, we begin to unravel. Life is a dangerous place to put. Stupor about when you are a slave to the noise, stripped of the ability to hear clearly. Your daily ritual baths have left you feeling anything but clean in the mire of the noise. Your questions are breeding and birthing. More questions. Which remains unanswered. Such offsprings are like fruit spawned from the tree of noise, not born of the tree of life.

Often God speaks life in the stillness, apart from the noise. When Elijah needed to hear, God sent a strong wind, an earthquake, and a fire. God wasn't in the wind, in the earthquake, or in the fire, He whispered in the stillness. Noise hides this stillness, clouds direction breathes pain, doubt, fear and confusion.

Our core cries out for God to speak, to answer. Maybe God has already said what We. We wished him to say. I wonder if it's frustrating for God to see us holding His word while we ask for answers He already gave. Are we asking for directions with the map in our hands? With different characters but the same plot. Sometimes our story has already unfolded. It's just trapped in the pages of ink and paper.

God is waiting in His Word. Our hunger for His word must outweigh the very thing that weighs us: the noise.

Our life must contain clarity where we decide, direct, dictate and live. The noise must become a slave once mastered. It is a useful tool to position your life differently. Reverse your actions. This will change you. Your life’s cyclical tides will dance not with the moon, but with the Son of God.

Do the natural, he does the Super. Embrace your freedom! Live a life of clarity. Become like the master. Master your noise. Master the static.”

With the popularity of smartphones, people have become chained to these devices. And in some ways it can be really great and in some ways it can be really detrimental. It can be one more way of noise entering into our lives. Even without smartphones, the noise has always been there, especially for those that are news junkies or sports junkies where they have the TV on Fox News or CNN or CBS or C-SPAN or ESPN And now you can have whatever type of news network right at the tip of your fingers on these phones, things like Daily Wire or Apple News or. The New York Times or whatever type of information you want. And so we have these talking heads and commentaries constantly pouring into our lives and giving us the most up-to-date info on the hot topics or quote news and quote events that are happening. Around us, and sometimes it's stuff that we want to hear. And things that affect our local community. But more often than not, it's things that are happening on a global scale or protests that are happening and unrest that is happening that constantly comes before our eyes. And so even when we are trying to focus, it is a hard time to show Up and be real in the moment. To be fully present without any other thing going on.