The Voice

I was walking the other day and I realized that I couldn't hear the birds singing or the wind in the trees because there was road construction going on and the sound of the heavy machinery was overpowering everything else. And then, something occurred to me, fears are often like heavy machinery. They come in loud and overpowering until you feel as though there is no escape from it. They drown out the beautiful sounds of the world around you until you feel lost in a sea of noise, fear and distraction. But then I realized something, just because the machines are trying their best to overpower everything else, the birds are still there, the breeze is still dancing in the trees and the snow is still crunching under my feet. Just because I've stopped listening for it doesn't mean it has left. You just have to train your ears to listen over the construction so that you can hear the symphony all around you. Fear is relentless and if you give it power you will soon be sitting in the corner with your hands over your ears begging it to stop. What we must realize is that God promises to be with us always and He says that there is no fear in Him. So, when the fear begins to drown you out, you have to stop and listen. Listen past the clamoring thoughts and distractions in your mind. It says in the Bible that God doesn't always blare His words at you, He wants you to listen for them. Moses was expecting God to come thundering from the mountain tops, but He didn't. Moses had to wait and listen for that still small voice. So, when the fears and doubts begin to scream at you remember that though they may be the loudest, that doesn't mean they are the truth. God designed us to be in communion with Him. When we listen to the fears and believe them we stop communicating with God, the source of truth and peace. So, my challenge to myself and you is to start training your mind to listen for the still small voice. It is not going to be easy, because the fears aren't going to just give up, but listen past them and don't give them the time of day. Because the more time you give them, the more real they will sound. So, laugh, love, live and start listening for the still small voice.

1 Kings 19:12
"Then He said, “Go out, and stand on the mountain before the LORD.” And behold, the LORD passed by, and a great and strong wind tore into the mountains and broke the rocks in pieces before the LORD, but the LORD was not in the wind; and after the wind an earthquake, but the LORD was not in the earthquake;  and after the earthquake a fire, but the LORD was not in the fire; and after the fire a still small voice."

"The key to change is to let go of fear." --Rosanne Cash