Practicing God's Presence in What We Hear

An Introduction to Season 6: Hear

For those of us without hearing impairment, our day is filled to the brim with sounds. Before we even open our eyes, we may hear an alarm telling us it's time to roll out of bed and begin a new day.

The flush of a toilet, the sound of running water in the sink or shower. A child waking up, or little feet coming to your room longing for the comfort of mom and dad. Coffee dripping into a ceramic mug. Milk splattering into a bowl of cereal and a spoon clanking to the side of the bowl. The hushed zip of a lunch box packed and ready. A bird chirping out the window. The car starting.

These are all sounds which have become so familiar, we hear but don't listen for anymore.

Even the radio on a morning commute can fit into this. It all becomes background noise.

It's very real, a constant in our presence but we aren't tuned in to listen.

It's not an exaggeration to say we may spend every moment of our day listening to something - music, a podcast or audio book. These may only get interrupted by a phone call or Zoom call, a co-worker coming by to chat or discuss a project at hand.

In the rush of our days and amidst all the sound pollution we experience, we become numb to sound, especially sounds which come from an invisible source. When we do not see the bird before us, we may not give much attention to its song and may move on without even hearing it.

But, there is another sound which comes from an invisible source we are prone to miss. It, too, is very real, a constant in our presence but we often miss it because we are not tuned in to listen. It's the voice of God.

Even if we trust He still speaks to us today, we miss it in our waking and perhaps our commuting or working or various times throughout our day because our attention is on something else. We need to get ready and help get the people in our home ready and out the door on time. We are thinking about all the to-do's before us or a presentation or lunch or task which we are needing to complete today. Then, when the work day is over and our minds may be free to think of anything of our choosing, we hear the rundown of our thoughts - processing how the workday went, the interaction we shared with our boss or co-worker, the next thing on the day's schedule - getting one to soccer another to gymnastics, checking in with a spouse and making dinner happen. We get to the end of the day exhausted and needing some sleep to wake up and do it all again.

What if we begin to practice tuning in to the voice of God regularly? What if after hearing the alarm to wake up, we begin to practice taking a moment to talk to God and listen for His voice, thanking Him for this day, asking for His guidance and wisdom and to help us tune into what He has for us today. Then, not just merrily rowing along in our day, being a victim to the rhythm it sets for us, but intentionally pausing throughout the day (even setting an alarm on our phone to help us remember to pause) and silently or audibly talking with God and listening for Him to speak.

Here's what I know to be true: all of our lives, every bit of it in every season, it's all about our relationship with God. This means God wants to use the circumstances of our day - even the ordinary ones which seem to fit into a Groundhog Day movie script, to draw us nearer to Him and teach us something about Himself and His Kingdom and our place in it and His overwhelming, sacrificial love for us.

But here is what I also know to be true: we often only seek God's voice when we need direction. And how this must sadden Him. A friend of mine shared, "I'm starting my seventh decade and I need to hear God now more than ever."

In Psalms, we're reminded how to welcome His presence:

Enter his gates with thanksgivingand his courts with praise;give thanks to him and praise his name. - Psalm 100:4

And why do we do this? For our pleasure or our needs? No, because we love Him because He first loved us. He is love. He is good. The Psalm continues:

For the Lord is good and his love endures forever;his faithfulness continues through all generations. - Psalm 100:5

No matter what trial or tragedy is heavy on our heart, we can enter His presence with gratitude for His character never changes - He is forever good and loving and faithful.

As we begin to practice the presence of God, we are going to take time in this season 6 of the podcast to become present, and we'll call upon our five senses to do this. We are starting with hearing, for Jesus continually said,

"Whoever has ears to hear, let them hear." - Mark 4:9

We are going to start by talking about hearing and discerning God's voice as well as some misconceptions which go along with this. Next, we'll talk about how God speaks to us through His Word and through the historical accounts of people who lived long ago. Then, we'll spend a few weeks hearing people like you and me tell their stories of faith - how God revealed Himself to them. Discerning God's voice for ourselves comes with prayerful practice. One of the best books I've read which practically walks us through this is Hearing God by Dallas Willard. In this, he covers:

• the tension of wanting to hear God's voice but feeling we lack confidence in how it works

• common misunderstandings of how God communicates with us

• various ways in which He is with us

• examines some objections to the idea of God communicating with individuals

• various ways He communicates and the "still, small voice" we often hear the voice of God described as

• God speaking to creation and to the process of redemption through His Word

• how we can be sure we are hearing God

• what to do when there are times when we are not hearing Him

I cannot recommend this supportive text enough. My challenge to us is to begin to audit the sounds we hear. Fight to be present with the sounds around you. Start by paying close attention to the sounds of creation. Ask God to help you hear Him by simply praying, "God, I want to hear You. Give me ears to hear and understand Your voice and Your truth."

As Brother Lawrence wrote in The Practice of the Presence of God,

There is not in the world a kind of life more sweet and delightful than that of a continual conversation with God. Those only can comprehend it who practice and experience it; yet I do not advise you do it from that motive. It is not pleasure which we ought to seek in this exercise; but let us do it from a principle of love, and because God would have us.- Brother Lawrence, The Practice of the Presence of God

For love and because if we are going to be followers, apprentices, of Christ, then we need to learn to listen to our Teacher's voice. In the same way a parent recognizes the voice of their child in a sea of children, God hears us. How unthinkable and true, He bends down to listen when we call upon Him. How beautiful and deeply humbling and moving, the Almighty God Himself talks not just to but with us. We are found worthy of His time and His voice, all because of Christ.

When we really understand this, when it becomes a reality nestled deep in our hearts and minds, we desire to hear God's voice more than any other sound we could possibly hear. This desire leads us to prioritize this and to intentionally tune in. And I know, God longs to be known by us. So much so, we can experience His beauty through His creation - through the songbird in the morning, through the rush of the breeze through the leaves, through the pitter-patter of little feet walking towards us, through the interactions at work, through the commutes and errands we run...

....and through the stories of faith we hear - so let's start here.

As we discussed last week, "Beauty will save us," so let's prayerfully ask God, "Father, give us eyes to see, ears to hear, a heart to feel and understand. As we do, may we learn to walk in step with the Spirit of Holiness and may Your fragrance of heaven linger on us and be a gift we give to others - so they may be drawn to this scent and come to taste and see for themselves the goodness and wonder of your love."

If we are to experience the wonder of God's love - to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, to be filled with the fullness of God, we need to awaken our souls to this Beauty here with us.

Our new mini-series on hearing the wonders of God's love is just getting started, and I so hope you'll join us back here next week - same time, same place - for more encouragement.

Our strength grows as we rely on strength from above. Our joy grows as we see God transforming us from the inside out. Our peace grows as we spend time in God's presence, and we find rest when we intentionally seek the Lord first in our lives, for the Lord is ever our portion.

The good life, well it starts with a good day. Then another. Then another. Let's choose to live #TheGoodDay one day at a time.