The One About Noisy Gongs

Sometimes we just need to listen quietly. Silence. It's such a foreign thing these days. There's always a TV going somewhere, radio in the car, background noise at the supermarket, cars barreling down the road. Noise is always present. When silence appears suddenly out of nowhere, it actually sounds strange. Oh - wow - that's what quiet is....utter and complete silence. It's rare to find but I tend to welcome it wholeheartedly.

Quality time - quiet time. God craves our time with Him, our full attention. With all the noise around us, it's good to step away from it all and listen - truly listen and connect with God and His Word. In order to truly hear someone, you have to be silent. How can God lead you where He wants you to be in life if you aren't taking time to stop and sincerely listen to Him?

If you aren't in tune with God's love and in a secure relationship with Him, how are you supposed to love others around you as God intends - as God loves you? God loves you so much and wants all of you. All of your attention. He listens to your every word, every thought, and every feeling. Are you listening to Him?

Are you fully there for others and truly listening and loving those around you? This takes time, full attention, and shutting off the noise. 1 Corinthians 13 says love is many things, but it is not rude. If you are talking with someone and they keep talking over you or saying things that don't even make sense with what you are trying to tell them, how do you feel? Do you feel listened to? Do you feel loved? Or do you feel like you are talking to a noisy gong? You could just as well be talking to a wall while you watch it's fresh paint dry. In these situations, I tend to shut down and just stop talking. There's no point in wasting the energy.

It is also a good idea to wait on God to ensure you are speaking the right things before speaking into someone's life or situations. If you don't know that you have the proper words to say to someone, it is always ok to say "let me pray about it and get back to you on that." It's much better than simply being a noisy gong.

The world we live in today is busy. There are phone apps for phone apps. There are google searches to help you search google. There are calls and text messages constantly coming in. According to The University of California, there are over 33,000 television stations in the world which is equal to approximately 48 million hours of original programming. That is a LOT of noise.

Are we taking the time needed to shut off all the noise and deepen our God ordained relationships? Not only with God Himself, but also with the people God placed in our lives. Our personal relationships need that silent quality time as well. Some of my deepest connections and friendships have developed in rooms of complete silence and with no distractions. When our home is completely silent, I love to just sit down and enjoy it - bask in the pure silence of the room. There's something so peaceful to be found in those quiet silent moments.

When you go out on dates with your person, do you spend time checking on those apps and apps of apps? How about giving your person your full attention? Have you ever tried putting that phone on airplane mode and enjoying your time? Whatever it is grabbing your attention, it can certainly wait two hours. Shutting it off might even help you enjoy the best two hours you've had in a really long time. The devil wants to distract you from the things that truly matter in life. Especially those God ordained relationships we should be giving our full attention.

Anyone who knows me personally, knows I get distracted REALLY easily. Silver butterfly? Where!? Ope - y'all lost me a sec there. I have one of those ADHD personalities that has a million things going on in my head in any given second. Yup, that's me. I have to work really hard to shut it down. I have to remind myself not to be a noisy gong pretty much every day. To stop, calm down, and focus. (or as Vanilla Ice put it - Stop! Collaborate & Listen) It takes mental effort and work on my part. A whole lot of extra work. If my relationships are worth it...and they are, I'll do the work. Because I need to. God as well as the people God put into my life need my full attention daily.

It's great to evaluate our relationships on occasion. Are you giving your relationship with God the attention it needs? Are you giving the relationships in your life the attention they deserve? Perhaps it's time to shut off the television, put that phone, computer or tablet down, and take some time in silence to deepen those important relationships. It truly makes a huge difference in relationships to quiet down and take the time to truly love those around us as God intended us to.

1 Cor 13:1 "If I could speak all the languages of earth and of angels, but didn't love others, I would only be a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal."