A Word About Noise

We live in an excessively noisy world. One dictionary says a noise is “a sound, especially one that is loud or unpleasant or that causes disturbance.” But I think that dictionary is wrong. I somehow don’t think a noise is the same thing as a sound.

Most of the time, we associate noise with an auditory invasion. But, just as noise can come from a lot of different sources, ‘invasions’ can too. In fact, as I think about it, most of the noises in my world don’t have anything at all to do with any auditory process. Here a few of the noises that I’ve noticed invading my life, my personal space in just the last few days:

It was either Fox News or CNN, probably both of them, that gave me breaking news that the stock market had —their word, not mine— plummeted 600 points. Ka-boom! Loud noise.
My iWatch made a soft, loud noise this morning, too. Annoying as all get out. A little ding with an accompanying txt that said, “Time to drink your water,” while I was trying to read my bible. 

So many alerts, dings, and verbal and written noises that assault me every day. I’m so used to noise now that I’m afraid I hardly notice. I think noise is like a cluttered closet in my soul. It demands my attention but rarely deserves it. But I don’t think noise is the same as ‘sound.’

Sound has a certain intentionality, to me. It’s crafted. I like to think a sound has an associated purpose. Think of the hush before a symphony begins. It’s not a noise. But it’s a sound, just the same. The creak of a rocking chair on a quiet morning. Or the sound of a loved one’s footprints on the front porch. That’s a sound that’s not trying to impress me. It’s trying to find me.

Back in the garden—before shame took root and fear found a foothold—Adam and Eve heard the sound of the Lord walking in the cool of the day. Not a thunderclap. Not a sermon being preached. Just the sound. The unmistakable sound of God, as He moved with kindness through the trees.You can’t just manufacture the sound of God walking through your life, either.

Jesus said, “He who has ears, let him hear.” He wasn’t talking about our eardrums.
He was talking about the sound truth makes in our lives when we’re receptive, and have the good sense to hear the sound of God, amidst the noise of this world.

These days, I’m asking God to help me recognize His sound again. Not just as I sit in church worshipping, but in the quiet of my own front porch, or standing in some checkout line, or listening in silent awe as the sun quietly sets on a particularly noisy day.

When God walks along in a life, it’s never noise.
It’s always a sound.