The world is a cacophony of noise. Phones not only ring, but play a song; even my washer completes its cycle with a tune! TVs and YouTube are ready with every type of video and program imaginable. With all this sound comes the voices conveying a plethora of messages. Even when we shut everything off, our minds are a whirl of activity with everything we’ve seen and heard. Whose voice are we listening to? 

If we want to hear God’s voice through the din of this noisy world, we need to learn how to tune into Him. First, we need to pay attention to our thoughts. What thoughts are we listening to? What thoughts are the loudest, being turned over again and again in our head? Are they honest and truthful about ourselves and our relationship with others? Or are they negative and shield-protecting ones that use the excuse of keeping our hearts safe rather than allowing us to  reach out in love? Once we recognize the pattern, we need to shut down those thought processes. It’s not something we can do overnight, but rather takes a daily effort in paying attention for when these thoughts surface. This can’t be done on our effort alone, but something we need to ask for God’s assistance. 

How many times have we, through the voices we hear, judged ourselves not good enough? At whose urging was that? At the end of the day, do we look at what we failed to accomplish and feel that we don’t measure up? This type of negative thought process is just what Satan needs to get a foot in the door of our conscience. He agitates us so that we focus on not being good enough for God. It’s in these times of negativity that we forget that God already knows we’re not good enough; that’s why He sent His Son to save us. He knows it all, and created us anyway. 

We need to keep in mind that listening to negative thoughts and indulging in them, is welcoming Satan into ourselves. How can we hear God when there is already someone else speaking to us? God will always be honest and truthful with us; we may not always like what we hear, but God only wants the best for us and wants to bless us with His love and grace. 

God knows we’re not worthy, but He calls us His Beloved. Isn’t that a sound worth listening to?