Hey,
I know I’ve said this before, but I really do want to find ways to write in this space more consistently. I’m still working on figuring out what a sustainable long-term strategy for that looks like - for today, I have some very short reflections on the importance of finding quiet in our increasingly noisy culture (inspired in part by this excellent book).
We live in a world that is LOUD - both figuratively and literally. More than any generation of humans prior, we have access to an astonishing number of potential outlets for our attention. Not all of these outlets are inherently bad, but I do wonder if, in our digital age, it’s far too easy to reach a critical mass of distractedness that prevents us from reaching true intimacy with God and being sensitive to the often quiet voice of his Spirit.
Blaming smartphones and social media for our cultural ills is almost cliché at this point, but I do think these two pieces of technology illustrate this problem well. My phone enables me to preoccupy myself with literally thousands of possible topics and/or forms of content - updates on the coming presidential race, the latest IU basketball recruiting rumors, golden retriever Facebook reels, etc. Again, none of these things are bad in isolation - just look at these very good boys - but they have the collective effect of filling my mind with things that are disproportionately earthly and temporal, leaving less room than I’d care to admit for fixing my eyes on Jesus and considering how he’s working in my immediate contexts.
In 1 Kings 19, Elijah hears the voice of God not in the strong wind, earthquake, or fire, but rather in the “gentle whisper” (v. 11-12). The implications of this for our day are profound - because sometimes, God whispers while everything else screams. He doesn’t need to be loud to be worthy of our attention, affection, and praise, and I’m increasingly realizing my need to find places quiet enough to let my soul hear from him.