“Don’t let the noise of the world keep you from hearing the voice of the Lord.” – Unknown
If you didn’t have cable growing up, you know all about the aluminum foil-covered antenna on the floor model tv. When it didn’t bring in a channel, you saw a black-and-white fuzzy screen and heard “shshshshshs.” Well that’s what I think of when I hear the words ‘white noise’. Merriam-Webster defines white noise as “a constant background noise; especially: one that drowns out other sounds” – That’s where I want to focus this blog.
I was just kind of in a funk in the beginning of the last week. Nothing out of the norm happened, but I was just feeling blah. I was very irritated and frustrated. The negativity I was surrounded by had me in a dangerous place. A place where I temporarily lost my focus, reacting to situations versus what I know God had already spoken to me. Thursday morning driving to work I made a decision to snap out of it because I hated the way I was feeling. Man, I needed my focus and happy place back!
Proverbs 4:25 {MSG} says, “Keep your eyes straight ahead; ignore all sideshow distractions” – something I clearly wasn’t doing. This scripture was thought-provoking for me – What white noise, a.k.a. distractions, have I ever allowed to invade my life? Two of the biggest ones would be people and problems.
People. How many of you can honestly say your growth would be further if it weren’t for people? Sadly, I know my growth would be further if it weren’t for people. It’s not people actually doing something to me, instead, it’s how I think they will perceive me when my actions aren’t the societal norms. It’s just human nature to want people to like us but at the end of the day we should want God to love us! At this stage in my life I have fully comprehended that worrying about what people might think of me will get me nowhere but pleasing God will get me everywhere I need to be! It took me awhile to stop fighting that inner battle, but I truly know if God is for me who can be against me? {Romans 8:31}
Problems. This is a huge distraction – problems are EVERYWHERE! So many times I’m quick to think the worst when “problems” arise. However, I’ve learned problems are really preparation for what God is trying to teach me if I have the right perspective. So, you can choose to either complain about your problems or learn from them. You don’t know what’s coming in your life, but you can learn from what’s happening. {James 1:2-4}
In life we’ll encounter many environments with white noise but it doesn’t mean it has the right to have you. At the end of the day we should desire God’s approval over anyone or anything else. However, that requires the elimination of the white noise in our lives. It’s not easy and takes practice, discipline, and most importantly, total surrender to the plans God has for your lives. When the white noise becomes overpowering go find your power. Pickup your bible, find scripture(s) for your situation, or simply put on some praise and worship music. I can guarantee your spirit will get lifted – leaving you to conquer the white noise in your life.
Heroic Inspirations 