I don’t know about you but I love to listen to music. I listen to music when I work, and when I read. I create playlists based on my favorite books or based on the season or just my moods. I love listening to all types of music and it’s not abnormal for me to take an hour to listen to a bunch of new songs and add them to my many playlists.
When I was in high school and college, music was what I used to focus. It was how I tuned out the chaos of my noisy house to get my homework done. Or when it was too quiet in the library, I used music to help focus there. Back when I shared a room with my sister (who SNORED) I used music to help me sleep.
I wake up to music every morning, and play my favorite playlists as I get ready for my day. When I have Mass in the morning, I play my Upbeat Christian Playlist. If I don’t have Mass, I listen to folk tunes or maybe upbeat pop music.
Every time I get in the car I listen to music. If I’m driving to Mass, it’s something related to Jesus. If I’m driving pretty much anywhere else, I’m probably listening to Noah Kahan’s latest album because I think it’s the best driving music (especially for driving past all the corn fields I encounter in Iowa.)
At night I listen to music as I get ready for bed. Sometimes it’s old Taylor Swift songs that I dance around my bedroom to as I sing the lyrics that I associate with my childhood into my hairbrush. (Yes I’m 22, and I’m not too old for that.) Sometimes it’s my playlist inspired by seasonal depression which makes me cry if I’m feeling sad enough, or other times it’s my “Songs to Dance to at 12am” playlist.
I even sleep with a fan on because the white noise helps me sleep.
Even as I’m typing this, I am tempted to put my AirPods in for a little background noise. Out of habit, I want to fill the silence around me because it’s what I’ve done for years. And I am not the only one who is like this, I think most of us are accustomed to constant noise now. You might not be exactly like me, maybe instead of music your noise is the TV, or maybe its Facebook Reels or TikTok or YouTube. Maybe it’s work and constant activity. But one thing is certain: in our world today, there are constant streams of noise everywhere. So much so that we have become afraid of the silence.
In social settings, silence is seen as awkward (and while sometimes it is, comfortable silence in a relationship is actually a good thing.) When we are waiting in line at the store, we habitually pull out our phones to scroll on social media or check our text messages. We can’t be alone with our own thoughts for five minutes or it drives us crazy.
In 1 Kings 19:11-13 the prophet Elijah goes up to a mountain top to pray. He listens for God’s voice and through wind, earthquakes and fire the Lord does not speak to him, but it is in the silence that comes after that Elijah hears the Lord’s voice.
It is in the silence that the Lord speaks.
Our world is filled with noise. While we may not be on a mountaintop surrounded by fire or earthquakes or great winds, we are surrounded by the chaos of our world and we are afraid of the silence. And when we let the world’s noise be our protection, the voice of our true Protector becomes lost and we are led away from Him.
It is important that we allow ourselves to not only become comfortable with silence, but that we embrace it. We must seek it out and wrap ourselves in it. The devil uses noise to tune out the voice of God. We must use silence to reconnect with the Lord and tune out the voice of satan. The more we become accustomed to the voice of God, the voice of Truth, the easier it will be to identify and reject the lies that Satan offers to us. And silence is key to that.
Often I will put my phone in another room for an hour in order to be rid of the temptation to be on it (I’m on it way too much). When I go to mass I leave my phone in the car. This week I am fasting from music so that I can learn to embrace silence and welcome the Lord’s voice into every moment.
I would encourage you to reflect on your life, where do you consume the most noise, and how can you separate yourself from it for this week? The Lord wants to speak to you, to know you, and to love you, but you must not drown His voice out with the noise that surrounds you. But you must become comfortable in silence and open your heart to hear Him.
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