Are You There, God?

At my place of work, there is a central department that oversees maintenance, like heating and cooling, for all county buildings. Recently, a few of the techs came out to do some general upkeep and filter changes for my facility’s HVAC. If we didn’t know they were on the roof from the telltale sounds above, we found out a short time later when complete silence descended. It’s amazing because on a daily basis, we never really pay that much attention to how much noise the system makes. In many ways, it becomes white noise. When that noise ceased, however, everyone noticed! The silence was loud. People stopped working briefly and looked around, likely to see if anything else was about to shut down. You could tell that everyone was momentarily uncomfortable with the quiet.

Sometimes during high winds or volatile storms, we’ll lose power in my neighborhood. My dog will react the same way as some of my peers when that quiet hits. It’s unsettling for him. He paces around and whimpers, uncomfortable with the silence. In many ways, that’s how we are in life. Instead of being comfortable with silence, it’s unsettling. I’m guilty of being in a meeting and suddenly feeling obligated to fill the silence. One would think that the opposite would be a little more disconcerting. Yet, people become so comfortable with noise that they feel uncomfortable without it. Like drama seekers. It’s not a good day for them without a piece of drama. And for many, a quiet day is a boring and long day.

If I’m trying to think, noise is a major disruption. I’m easily distracted and concentrating is a distant memory. In a distracted state, we’re more prone to mistakes, miscalculations, or errors in judgement. Sometimes in instances like this, we may end up doubting ourselves. Did I take that pill? Did I turn the lights off? Did I lock my car? The many distractions that flow our way in life show me the importance of doubling up my focus when it comes to my spiritual journey. The choices I make on this journey can become more than a simple mistake or error in judgement. They can become costly. 

On any given day, it doesn’t take much for our minds to run away with negativity. Even the person out there that thinks of themselves as the least creative can generate a blockbuster of negativity with one thought. This is why we have to be intentional about our thoughts. There is no shortage of distractions in life and the same can be said for us that are on this spiritual journey. There are so many darts being flung to convince us that the road we are on is not the right one. If that’s not trouble enough, there are other arrows in an attempt to sway us to believe that our prayers are in vain and that they’ve fallen on deaf ears. In the middle of all that noise, be all the more purposeful about spending quiet, quality time with God. When the noise is too much, trust him more to quiet the raging storm. Let your trust and your faith continue to grow. If you continue to do so, the noise will grow faint, but not your faith.

Stay Sunny!

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