“Look at My Servant, whom I have chosen. He is My Beloved, who pleases Me. I will put My Spirit upon Him, and He will proclaim justice to the nations. He will not fight or shout or raise His voice in public. He will not crush the weakest reed or put out a flickering candle. Finally, He will cause justice to be victorious. And His name will be the hope of all the world.” (Matthew 12:18-21 NLT)
The above verses are the words of God spoken to Isaiah (42:1-4) regarding His Son, the Lord Jesus, hundreds of years before Jesus was born on earth. Why are they so important? For many reasons, not the least of which was Jesus wasn’t coming to roll over people and demand His own way. Quite to the contrary, He was coming quietly and would live a very unassuming life.
Jesus was a carpenter, likely a trade His earthly father taught Him, but even when He began His public ministry, He went about it in a way that wouldn’t draw a lot of attention to Himself. Yes, of course, once He began to heal and help people, He struggled to find a private spot to go when He wanted to be alone. But His plan wasn’t to make much of Himself, but of His heavenly Father.
Jesus wasn’t a loud boisterous person who demanded people’s attention. He said of Himself in Matthew 29:11: “Take My yoke upon you. Let Me teach you, because I am humble and gentle at heart, and you will find rest for your souls.” When speaking to large crowds, I suspect they had to be quiet and very attentive to be able to hear His words. That hasn’t changed for us today.
Every day in numerous ways, voices cry out to us. It may be the literal cry of our infant child, or our heartbroken teen, or an angry boss, of a needy neighbor or friend. It may be the noise of traffic or the sounds of workers in our neighborhood. These “voices” can come from many sources, but Satan’s design for all of them is the same – to drown out the still, quiet voice of God.
A good friend, who happens to be one of my Pastors, said in a gathering I attended: “Remove the noise so God’s voice is the loudest.” Think about that for a minute. What is implicit in that directive? First, we have to desire to hear God’s voice; otherwise, why make the effort.
But isn’t that the point? We want to make the effort to hear God’s voice, but why? Because we believe whatever God has to say is worth hearing. Additionally, God’s voice won’t usually be the loudest, so it’s easy to miss what He’s saying if we’re not attentive. So, how do we quiet the voices vying for our attention?
We do what Jesus did, we separate ourselves to a quiet place. Finding that place may be a chore for you, especially if you have small children, but I will guarantee you it will be worth the effort. The reality is, we likely won’t be nearly as in demand as Jesus in the prime of His ministry, but He found a way to spend time with His Father, and so can we.
Every day each of us has 96 15-minute segments of time. Surely we can squeeze 15 minutes a day – only 1 of those 96 segments of time – to read God’s Word and listen to His voice! It’s less than 2% of your day. Yes, of course, Satan is going to battle you for every second you spend with God, but over time, it will get easier and the dividends you’re paid for your effort will increase.
I’m learning to listen to His voice and share my thoughts with Him in almost any environment. In a doctor’s waiting room, while driving (I don’t bow my head and close my eyes 😊), as I walk my pups, between people coming to church as I greet, while I’m eating (if I’m eating alone), showering, shaving, the list is almost endless of ways you can carve out time to speak to and listen to the Lord.
You just have to want His voice to be the loudest.
Blessings, Ed 😊
Walking With Jesus 