Escaping the Noise

Jesus answered him, “If anyone loves me, he will keep my word, and my Father will love him, and we will come to him and make our home with him. Whoever does not love me does not keep my words. And the word that you hear is not mine but the Father's who sent me. These things I have spoken to you while I am still with you. But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, he will teach you all things and bring to your remembrance all that I have said to you. Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. Not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your hearts be troubled, neither let them be afraid.” (John 14:23-27 ESV). Syndicated columnist Deborah Mathis recently wrote about a day in her life in our nation’s capital. She told about passing through busy Union Station. The first thing stamped on her memory was the noisy hubbub of sounds. The public address announcer calling out arrivals and departures. Scores of pagers, walkie-talkies, and cell phones crying out for someone’s attention. You could hear horns honking, machines clinking out change, and babies crying. There were voices from every direction. A nervous security guard yelled at a man about to enter a forbidden area. Three women stood up from their bench in order to press the points of their squabble with more emphasis. The man in line in front of her was pacing in tiny, agitated steps. Then she heard someone singing: “What a friend we have in Jesus, All our sins and griefs to bear; What a privilege to carry Everything to God in prayer.” “O what peace we often forfeit, O what needless pain we bear, All because we do not carry Everything to God in prayer.” She went on to write that the quarreling women closed down their spat and quietly took their seats. Tense shoulders seemed to relax. As the lone voice sang the remaining verses of Joseph Scriven’s lyrics from 150 years ago, Ms. Mathis realized she was singing along now. So were the three women who had been bickering. And several more. “Nice, huh?” offered the man who had been pacing his tiny, tight circle in front of her. “I don’t even believe in Jesus, but that’s nice.” For most of us there’s just too much “noise” in our days. Most of us try to pack too much into our days. So we rush from here to there, appointment to appointment, talking on cell phones as we go. In order for us to escape the noise of the moment, we need to learn to take a break from it. Sometimes that’s as easy as taking a short walk. Even if its only down the hall of your office building, that short walk will help you to clear you mind and return to a focus on the peace God promises. Slow down your pace a little and think on the thoughts of God’s grace. Escape the noise!