Sometimes, there is just so much noise.
The notifications on our phones. The new text message alert. The emails. All the pictures of everyone else's lives. The new videos. The next podcast. The Netflix series. There is so much consistent noise competing for our attention and filling up every little crevice of our heart. Stressing us out, pushing us into comparison, convincing us to buy more; to be more or different.
I know for me, I felt like my own life was so noisy. I was constantly consuming other people's voices, lives, and opinions. Without really realizing it, I was letting the lives and opinions of others shape how I saw my own self and lived out my life. In doing so, I felt like the voice of the Lord, His direction for my own life, and His thoughts towards me were all getting lost in the sea of content online.
For months, I had felt Him inviting me into stillness and June is when I finally relented. So this month, I took a break from Instagram (and will be back in July…probably). Honestly, I wrestled so much with this before I finally stepped into obedience, but I have learned something that I want to encourage you with this morning. It seems so simple…
We have to purposefully and intentionally create space for the Lord.
I'll be the first to say that whenever I wanted to do something mind-numbing so that I could distract or entertain myself, the scrolling would begin….and go on and on. That initial unpleasant feeling that prompted the desire to be distracted would then only be amplified instead healed. But come to find out, scrolling doesn't heal. Jesus does.
Don't get me wrong, social media isn't a bad thing. But when the constant overarching voices we are filling ourselves with are that of others and not of the Word of God, we are going to feel empty and have bigger wounds. We cannot allow the words and pictures we consume online speak more authority over our lives than Him.
So today, I want to extend an invitation to you to spend some quality time with the Lord. I don't mean doing a social media cleanse. Rather, encouraging you to simply get alone with the Lord. Let Him speak love over you.
Let Him tell you through His word what He thinks of you. Make some space to get to know the voice of the Lover of our souls. Whenever we are inundated with so many voices, we have to be intentional about getting to know what His voice and His truth sound like.
Because at the end of the day, not one of those other voices, good or bad, will be able to love you, heal you, and speak life over you the way He does. What a privilege we have to come sit and rest in His presence.
