I recently discovered just how much I hate silence. It began when my Amazon Alexa charger broke last month, because you cannot get one here I have to wait till the new one arrives in November.
It only took a day or two to realise I use the Alexa for many different things.
- To wake me up in the morning
- To play music while I am at home
- For listening to audio books
- And as a speaker when I watch TV
Suddenly my life was filled with silence….and I hated it!
As the days passed I began to think about why silence bothered me so much. Over time it became clear that my mind was accustomed to being continually entertained.
A few weeks ago I became very convicted about boredom leading to social media apps (and far too much scrolling). This led to deleting my Facebook, and Twitter apps from my phone. In a post about that experience I referred to social media as distractions, but they are actually “competing voices.”
Satan through technology and entertainment throws as many voices as he can at us. Because the loud voices of the world can drown out the still small voice of God.
Losing my Alexa made me step back and think about how many times I entertained myself instead of actually thinking about Gods will for my life.
Though It’s a work in progress I am beginning to enjoy the silence
- It gives time for prayer
- It allows me to meditate on Scripture
- It keeps me focused on the job in front of me instead of becoming distracted
- And most importantly, it allows me to listen for the Lords leading
There is nothing wrong with entertainment that glorifies God. But we must be very careful about the amount of voices that we allow to speak.
Johnhwilburn.org 