If a tree falls in the woods and no one is around to hear it, does it make a sound? This sophomoric philosophical question about the definition of sound begs for a deeper dive in shallow water. If the tree fell while you were standing in your backyard and watching it, would you understand what you just heard?
Can I get a witness to the fact there is more noise today than there has been in all recorded history? Because of this fact, we desire and seek more silence. Our world has become so loud we have moved beyond understanding what we hear in the race to escape the noise. We want to get away, quiet ourselves and have time to decompress from everything we hear. In turn we are blocking out the voice of God along with everything else.
We can over rate silence when we don’t understand what we hear. We talk about the use of silence in motion pictures, the art of silence, the secret of silence, the practice of silence and silent retreats. We need to focus on listening and UNDERSTANDING what the heck we are hearing. James said, “Dear brothers, everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to become angry.” James 1:19.
Prophets in the Bible were an interesting group of guys. Prophets had to be right 100% of the time or they weren’t a prophet…AND they got stoned to death when they were wrong the first time. Isaiah is a big name among the prophets. Christ quoted Isaiah in Matthew 13:14-15, “You will be ever hearing but never understanding; you will be ever seeing but never perceiving. For this people’s heart has become calloused; they hardly hear with their ears, and they have closed their eyes. Otherwise they might see with their eyes, hear with their ears, understand with their hearts and turn, and I would heal them.” When you don’t listen and understand what you hear, your heart becomes hardened.
The Son of God used parables as his listeners eyes glazed over. They heard what He said but they didn’t understand what He was saying. Do you hear God’s voice today? Ask your friends if they hear Him. No, Christ isn’t walking around in person, but according to Him, we have an even better way to hear the Creator of the universe.
Jesus told his followers it was good he was going away because only then would the Father send the Holy Spirit. In talking about the Holy Spirit, Christ said “When he comes, he will convict the world of guilt in regard to sin and righteousness and judgement:” Matthew 16:8. The Holy Spirit guides into truth, repeats only what He hears God say and tells us what is yet to come. Anyone who can convict the entire world can be heard by the entire world. If the Holy Spirit has the power to convict the entire planet, I can only imagine Satan would try to create enough noise to drown out His voice. Again, you have to hear to understand.
The gospels are replete with examples of Christ repeating himself. “If anyone has ears to hear, let them hear.” Mark 4:23. If you are a Christ follower, you HAVE ears to hear. Do you have a heart that listens? Do you understand what you are hearing? You HAVE been told the truth. Mark 4:9-12: ‘Then Jesus said, “Whoever has ears to hear, let them hear.” When he was alone, the Twelve and the others around him asked him about the parables. He told them, “The secret of the kingdom of God has been given to you. But to those on the outside everything is said in parables so that, ‘they may be ever seeing but never perceiving, and ever hearing but never understanding; otherwise they might turn and be forgiven!’
So, the piecing question haunts some of us as to why they don’t hear the voice of God today. Maybe we are too busy listening to the demands of a 12 hour work day, the voice of that new car you saw or the desire to move into a bigger house. Does the voice you hear come from the prince of the world or from heaven? Maybe John’s words are appropriate. “Whoever belongs to God hears what God says. The reason you do not hear is that you do not belong to God.” John 8:47. If you’re not hearing the Holy Spirit, make sure your first love is Christ Jesus. The voices you hear, the thoughts you have, come from the Holy Spirit or the evil one. When your heart puts Jesus first, His voice is loud and clear.
Right now most folks are scratching their heads because they can’t remember the last time they “thought” they heard the voice of God. Make sure you are listening for His voice. If you have accepted the fact a holy Creator made you, sent his Son, Jesus, to pay for your sinful self and you seek forgiveness through Christ’s death as payment for those wrongs, then you CAN hear God. Don’t doubt it. “..because he who doubts is like a wave on the sea, blown and tossed by the wind. That man…is a double minded man, unstable in all he does.” James 1:6-7. If a Christ follower doubts the ability to hear the voice of God he will be unstable in everything he does. We need to hit our knees right here and now to get rid of any doubt.
When your life is more noisy odds favor the noise is meant to distract you from what the Holy Spirit is saying. God is calling out His people and we need to listen more now than ever. Believers CAN hear His voice IF they will listen. If Christ is not your savior, all you will hear is noise. But, you can change that in about 30 seconds.
Forget the tree in the woods. Listen to the voice in your heart and head. Understand what you are hearing and where the message is coming from. Use the ears God gave you to hear the Holy Spirit he sent. Then respond before the tree falls on your head.