ARE YOU LISTENING?

"(Elijah) said, 'Go out, and stand on the mountain before the LORD.' And behold, the LORD passed by, and a great 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 calm voice" -- 1 Kings 19:11-12

     Perhaps you've noticed that today there is a lot of talking going on. Talk radio, the 24-hour News cycle, blogs, tweets, and social networking media ramble on to dominate the lives of many. I, personally, know people who live on Facebook. How they manage to get things done as they are constantly checking their Facebook page is beyond me.

     All too often what's being said amounts to nothing -- at least nothing that is of any profit to a child of God. And, all too often, the voices spouting these "nothings" howl like the wind, disrupt like an earthquake, and spread like wildfire. Mostly, these voices criticize, divide, and destroy in their slander, gossip, and misinformation.

     In the scriptural passage that headlines this post, we are reminded that when God revealed Himself to Elijah, He was NOT in the wind, nor the earthquake, nor the fire. We should not be looking for Him to be there, today, either. Noisy, nagging, negative voices are anthema to God because it prevents us from hearing His voice as he speaks to us and, today, we dearly need to hear Him.

    One of my favorite poems -- The Desiderata -- begins with the words, "Go placidly among the noise and the haste, and remember what peace there may be in silence..." and reminds us to, "avoid loud and aggressive people for they are vexations to the soul."  I believe it is time to be silent and avoid the noise and listen to that calm voice that speaks to us through the rage.

     James wrote in his epistle that children of God should be slow to speak and swift to listen (James 1:19). Pretty good advice for this twenty-first century by reminding us to resist the urge to be talking (arguing?) all the time. Too often our words run so freely they only to point to how spiritually empty we are and how little we really care for the other. God calls us into serve to these 'others,' but we cannot serve when spirituallyempty.

     My prayer is, that as we go about our daily lives amidst all the clutter may we take time to pause and listen for the calming voice of God, the voice that never shouts, but speaks words of gentleness and kindness to touch our hearts.  Are you listening?