Turn the Radio – Off?

Driving home from a breakfast date today, I tuned my radio to the local Christian radio station. (That’s right. It’s Rhode Island so I’m only aware of the one.) Here in the rural area of RI, it’s not uncommon to pick up one or two stations at a time on one dial location and that’s what happened.

For several miles, it was obvious I was driving on the line where the airwaves intersect for several stations, none of them able to dominate. I heard a crossfire of contemporary Christian music, an interview with a noteworthy Christian, and a sermon. I wanted to hear the sermon and kept hoping that station would take over but the three continued to battle it out for several minutes until I finally opted for silence.

That’s a lot like my life these days. I’m not struggling with many evil temptations to distract me but often, I’m facing a barrage of good choices, none of which can take root because they’re competing with one another for my attention. Even though the sermon, the song, and the interview were all worth my time, I couldn’t get my radio to focus on only one so they all lost their value. Trying to take them all in at once diluted the impact any one of them could have on my spiritual life. In the silence, I could hear God.

We all face this, yes? We can hear our own preacher at our local church but can also access a multitude of sermons on TV, radio, and the Internet. The finest in Christian music is only a click of our iPod or cellphone. Christian books abound along with podcasts, blogs, and magazines. It’s all good but when we begin to approach our spiritual development like customers or consumers rather than disciples, it’s time to opt for silence.

God has been able to communicate with His children since He spoke light into being. He can reach us and teach us without the aid of bloggers and name bands. Sink into the silence. Watch the clouds or the stars. Stoke a fire. Ride the waves. Rock a baby. Watch the kids play. Look a friend in the eyes over coffee. Bake a cake.

Lean back onto Jesus. Open your Bible. Listen to the birds.

One of my favorite quotes from Oswald Chambers says it better than I can, “The great enemy of the life of faith in God is not sin, but the good which is not good enough. The good is always the enemy of the best.”

‘Nuff said. Time for rest.

Turn the Radio – Off? https://t.co/ssi7dHfetB Seeking God in the silence. Finding Him in the midst of many choices. #Jesus #Sabbath #sunday

— Lori Roeleveld (@lorisroeleveld) February 5, 2017