Noise

"For I know the plans I have for you,” says the Lord. “They are plans for good and not for disaster, to give you a future and a hope.

Jeremiah 29:11

My junior year of college I had the opportunity to play college football against the reigning FCS (Division IAA) National Football Champions, the Montana University Grizzlies, in the first game of the 2002 season. Missoula, which is home to the Grizzlies, is in the middle of the mountains and due to the acoustics that are created by the stadium and by the nearby mountains, there isn’t a stadium in the country that produces a larger volume on game day… and their stadium only holds 21,000 fans; there are many more stadiums in the country that hold far more fans. 

During the game, there was a point when my coach was telling me what he wanted me to do when I got back on the field, and I couldn’t hear a word he said without bringing myself in very close proximity. The noise in the stadium was completely deafening. 

As I remember that experience now as the loudest physical noise, I consider the “noise level” we are experiencing today. Although many places are shut down and many people are shuttered, I feel that our world may be the noisiest it’s ever been, even deafening, and that trying to remain focused and quiet to hear God’s voice can be really hard.

At that football game, it wasn’t until I leaned in very close that I could hear my coach’s direction. In this New Year filled with much uncertainty in our world, I know that I need to be hearing from God, perhaps more than ever. Am I willing to try to go deeper with Him? Are you? My prayer is that God would give us the desire to get close enough to hear His voice and to understand the plans He has for us today.