Whether you turn to the right or to the left, your ears will hear a voice behind you, saying, “This is the way; walk in it.”
— Isaiah 30:21
This verse communicates the awesome truth that God speaks to his people. Isn’t that what we all want? We want to hear God’s voice. We want his direction in our lives. If we want it, and God does it, why is it that I struggle to hear his voice at times?
I think the answer is noise. We live in a world of noise, and all the noise drowns out the voice of God. I’ve heard that in communist China, where it is illegal to practice organized Christianity, every once in a while a rogue Christian radio station will pop up for the purpose of reaching the masses with the Gospel. When the Chinese government discovers these radio stations, they don’t shut them down, they just clog the airwaves with similar frequencies so that no one care hear the message. I think we struggle to hear the voice of God in our lives because our airways are clogged with so much noise — Facebook, Fox News, Twitter, text messages, CNN, Instagram, Snapchat, email, ESPN — all crowding out the voice of God.
Want to hear the voice of God? You must address the noise. This is a spiritual discipline. These are biblical imperatives.
“Be still and know that I am God…”
— Psalm 46:10
But I have calmed and quieted my soul…
— Psalm 131:2
If you don’t hear God’s voice in your life, he’s probably speaking. You just don’t hear him. What’s the noise in your life that is keeping you from hearing him? Are you ever still? Are you ever silent? Do you ever practice the discipline of quieting your soul? If you get serious about cutting through the noise, sooner or later, “your ears will hear a voice behind you, saying, ‘this is the way, walk in it.’”