SING TO ME

I slept with the windows open last night.  Certainly rare for a mid-March evening.   Record setting temps allowed that special treat.

As my sleepy senses woke this morning, I heard the tree frogs singing their song.  It has to be one of the most soothing sounds in nature to me.  I can get absorbed into it.  Bask in it.  I love just lying still and listening to them... their song quiets my soul and brings my heart peace.  I beckon the sun not to rise just yet so I can listen a little longer before the day begins.


What's that I hear, though?? Oh yeah, highway noise in the distance.  Man, that's certainly loud today.  Lots of trucks on the highway this morning.  Certainly is loud.  Someone's blaring their horn.  Wheels spinning.  Mufflers blaring.  Heavy metal cutting through wind.  Seems extra loud today.  There's no peace in sound pollution.

It didn't take long - or much effort - for the paradigm to switch.  Soon all I heard was highway noise.  The frog's gentle song had faded to the background as I focused on the sound of the trucks.  The peace I felt was replaced with the sounds of chaos.  Quiet broken by noise.  Yet they were both there all the time weren't they??  Of course they were... my focus had just shifted.   When I was focused on the frog's song, I didn't even acknowledge the pollution in the background.

It's the same for me with God's voice.  At times I am SO focused on hearing Him that it overwhelms me with peace.  I want to sit and bask in His presence.  He feels so close.  So real.  But then, what's that??  The voice of the evil one begins to creep in disguised as worry, anxiety, doubt, busyness, fear... distraction.  Things he likes us to simply label as "life".  Before long, the paradigm switches and My Jesus' voice fades to the background.  My focus shifts to what the evil one wants me to focus on instead.  Peace is broken... heaviness sets in. 

I read a simple sentence in a book awhile back that stayed with me.  It said "If God feels far away... it isn't Him who moved".  I'm learning - sometimes the hard way - that HIS voice IS always there.  HE is always present.  It all depends on what I CHOOSE to focus on.  Who's voice I choose to hear. 

Zechariah 3:17 says "For the Lord your God is living among you. He is a mighty savior. He will take delight in you with gladness. With his love, he will calm all your fears. He will rejoice over you with joyful songs".

Today, he delighted over me with the songs of tree frogs.

Thank you God, I love you too.