Life On MissionSample

I was speaking at a youth conference in Australia to about 50 youth. At one point, I asked them to all shout their name so I could hear them; all the kids screamed at once. The sound was chaotic. It rattled the windows and forced people to cover their ears. I couldn’t differentiate a single name. I then asked one girl to stand up in the back. On the count of three everyone else was to shout “Noise.” She was to shout her name. I counted to three and listened intently. Literally, through the noise, I heard her say Sharon. I heard her voice because I was intentional about disregarding the noise. The point is this, there is so much noise in the world that when we really need to hear God, that isn’t the time to come up with a strategy. Spend time with God in the quiet. Learn the sound of his voice away from the chaos. Then, when you need to hear him, you will be better able to hone in on His voice and separate it from the noise. Trying to explain what God’s voice sounds like is a real challenge. How do you explain the sound of being barreled in a wave while surfing? How about the sound of a beautiful sunrise? How do you explain the sound that an infant makes when they are happy? The best way to know what God sounds like is to read your Bible. It is my conviction that God will never speak anything to you that conflicts with what scripture says. Thus, knowing what the Bible says is hugely important. Ask God to help you store his word in your heart. Pray that he will remind you of the things you’ve read when needed.