Turning On, Tuning In, Dropping Out

In my opinion, one of the toughest things in our crowded and loud world which values busyness is to create enough space and silence so as to hear God’s “still, small voice”. But if we are to follow Jesus in a serious life-changing way we must find regular time to be quiet and listen.

Building this discipline into our lives requires work, it begins with a desire to carve out space. It requires giving up something, desiring to turn off the noise and find stillness, find quietness, find stillness.

Timothy Leary, the Harvard clinical psychologist, and of hippie fame, encouraged young people in the Sixties to “turn on, tune in, drop out.” While his countercultural phrase encouraged the usage of psychedelic drugs to find true consciousness, and that’s certainly not my advice, I do think that if we “turn on” a sensitivity to God and His presence, if we “tune in” by listening, and if we regularly “drop out” of the noise around us, we will “find” God and be better able to hear, and be changed by, His “still, small voice.”

We find a reference to God’s still small voice, a gentle whisper, in 1 Kings 19:12. Elijah had just been victorious over all the prophets of Baal. He heard that Jezebel, the wife of king Ahab, wanted to kill him. So, Elijah ran into the wilderness to hide. God sent an angel with food and water, telling Elijah to go to Mount Horeb and wait. In that cave, Elijah voices his displeasure that all God’s prophets had been killed by Jezebel, all except him. God instructed Elijah to stand on the mountain and wait for His (God) presence. Elijah was likely expecting God’s to show up in a loud and powerful way. Yet, wind, an earthquake, and fire came and went, and no God. It is after those had passed that God spoke to Elijah, in a still, small voice. To read this story, click here (1 Kings 18:16-19:13)  

It is important to note that God is not confined to speaking a still small voice. For example, He spoke to Job out of a whirlwind (Job 38:1), in Psalm 104:7 His voice sounded like thunder, and to Moses He appeared as fire coming from a bush (Exodus 3:2). God is not limited to a single method of communicating with us. Regardless of how He chooses to speak, it is of utmost importance that we hear and recognize His voice. And at least for me, I am best suited to hear God when I carve out time and space, eliminating as many distractions as I can.       

“Be still, and know that I am God. I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth!” Psalm 46:10

“For God alone, O my soul, wait in silence, for my hope is from him.” Psalm 62:5

“Teach me, and I will be silent; make me understand how I have gone astray.” Job 6:24

“I love those who love me, and those who seek me diligently find me.” Proverbs 8:17

So, have you built into your daily rhythm turning on, tuning in, dropping out?