The upbeat music blares from the radio as I drive. My cell phone beeps with a message. The sounds of traffic echo around me. A thousand thoughts swirl through my mind. Reviewing the day, planning what yet needs to be done. Regrets from the past. Worries about the future.
Amid so much noise inside and out, could I hear a still, small voice?
In the Bible, God spoke to Elijah in that still, small voice (1 Kings 19:11-12).
He still speaks to us today. But sometimes my heart is too cluttered and my mind too noisy to hear.
Hurried. Chaotic. Distracted. Overwhelmed. When these qualities describe my heart and life, there is no room for the still, small voice. No time to pause, to listen, to reflect.
“Let not yours be the outward adorning with braiding of hair, decoration of gold, and wearing of robes, but let it be the hidden person of the heart with the imperishable jewel of a gentle and quiet spirit, which in God’s sight is very precious” (1 Peter 3:3-4).
A gentle and quiet spirit, Peter says. This means to allow my heart to be at rest, to be open and ready to hear the faintest whisper of our God in the stillness.
And so my resolution for the new year is to have a quiet heart. To purposefully uproot the useless noise, clutter, and distractions that steal my peace. To resist the rushed mindset that tempts me to focus on how much I get done rather than the quality of what I do.
“Be still, and know that I am God” (Psalm 46:10).
In a world that pushes us to do, He invites—commands—us simply to be.
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