silence is golden

FROM "A LESSON LEARNED"
All last week, the weathermen have been forcasting some winter weather for Oklahoma this weekend! We were supposed to get some sleet and snow mix on Sunday and more snow on Monday. Well, when we got up Sunday morning I turned on the news trying to catch the weather one last time before we got dressed for church. Not only did I want to double check how to dress the kids for the day but I also wanted to make sure the forecast was the same at all!! I mean, come on!! We DO live in Oklahoma. The state where you can practically swim one day and have a snow ball fight the next! Ha!! (OK...that may have been an exageration but it does get pretty close to that!!) Anyway, as the weather started and I was desperately trying to hear what the weatherman was saying Ashtyn came into the room. Being the ever inquisitive six year old he started asking every question under the sun about what the forecast was. "Is it gonna snow mom?" "How cold is it mom?" "Are we getting enough snow to have a snowball fight?" "Are we gonna freeze?" "What did they say mom?" "Is it already snowing?" "Did he say ice mom?" "Are we gonna have school tomorrow?" "What does the white on the map mean?" And on, and on, and on, and on, and on...Sigh. I kept asking Ash to "hang on a second" or "stay quiet for a minute" so that I could hear the forecast but the questions just kept coming. Suddenly it hit me...
Lesson Learned? The weatherman was giving me the information I wanted. He was giving me the answers. I couldn't hear him though because of the constant noise in the background. At the very same time that I was getting the weather Ashtyn was asking me questions about the weather. This lesson is two fold. So often, in life, God is giving us the very answers we need. He is right in the room with us, speaking OUT LOUD and telling us everything we need to know but we can't stop asking questions long enough to hear him. God is answering the very question we are asking but we can't hear him above our own voice. How frustrating for God and how frustrating for us! We get aggravated thinking that God is ignoring us when in reality he is doing his best to answer us. We must take the time to listen. During our quiet time with the Lord we can't simply sit down, read God's word, present our requests and then get up and walk away. We must must must take some time to listen. God WANTS to answer us. God WANTS to clue us in on his plans. But to hear his voice we have to listen! We can also learn another lesson from this life experience. While I was trying to hear the weather Ash was talking, talking, talking. I wanted the answer and he was, in a sense, sabotaging that desire. So often in life, we ourselves are eager to draw closer to God. We want to hear his voice and seek his will but the noise in the background of our lives keeps us from fulfilling that need. We try to tune it out but the worldly noise continues. It keeps us from seeking the answers we want and need in life. We have to take control of our own relationship with God. If you are seeking God's will, an answer to prayer or simply trying to draw closer to him and further your relationship with the Lord you often have to eliminate some of that noise from your life. Whether it's for a brief time where you can get alone with God and seek his face or whether you must completely and permanently cut certain "noises" out of your life, you have to do what you have to do! Your relationship with the Lord comes first! No matter what you are seeking in your relationship with God and no matter what the noise in your life is (whether it's an outside noise or your own questioning voice) make it a point to find quiet in your life. Find that time and that place where you can draw near to God and he can draw near to you. God IS speaking. He IS answering. We just have to listen.