Have you ever stopped to notice how noisy our world is?

How noisy your world is?

In many ways you’ve grown up with a near constant buzz in your ear. TV, movies, music, the internet — all available to you on a variety of devices — that make it entirely possible for you to stay plugged in at all times.

But is that healthy?

And what are you missing by the constant distraction that noise provides? Have you ever wondered?

Have you ever wondered what you might find in the absence of all that noise? In the stillness… In the quiet.

I think there are a number of us who (whether we’d admit it or not) fear the silence — and what we might find there.

We fear being alone with our thoughts and innermost feelings.

We fear the possibility of hearing the quiet whisper of God — or worse, not being able to hear it.

Yet, if we claim to be followers of Jesus, the silence (and solitude) are things we must pursue. They’re places and experiences that we must be willing to give ourselves to.

Why?

Because we see time and time again Jesus modeling for us this priority in the Gospels. He regularly withdrew (from the noise, hurry, and crowds of His day) to a quiet place — where He sought the Father.

Noise is one of our biggest detractors as we attempt to follow Jesus.

And while there may be elements of the noise that we have no control over, I would argue that there are a lot of them that we do.

We have the power to turn down the dial — or even turn off the switch — on much of the noise that makes up our personal lives.

So the question is: How are you dealing with the noise in your life?

Are you controlling it?

Or is it controlling you?