I write this editorial amid a blustery blizzard. I just stepped inside from the cold, and my fingers are still numb against the laptop keyboard. Outside my window, I hear the wind howling.
I recently met a friend who told me about his love of snowshoeing on the lake in the dead of winter. “When you’re out there in the middle of nowhere, you experience sensory deprivation. It’s almost like you hear nothing and everything at once.” He says.
“That’s terrifying,” I think.
Then I thought of a podcast I heard about the world’s quietest room. The Orfield Anechoic Chamber in Minneapolis is a concrete bunker engineered to be so silent that within minutes of being inside the chamber, a person begins to hear their blood flowing and even their bones grinding.
How quiet do you think you’d have to be to hear your bones? Not very quiet if you ask me: my bones creak every time I sit down or stand up. How still do you think you have to be to hear God’s voice? I don’t have the answer to that one; perhaps it’s different for each of us. We know that God speaks in many ways: God answered Job in the whirlwind (Job 38:1), he revealed himself to Moses in fire (Exodus 3:4) and an earthquake (Exodus 19.18), to Elijah, it was but a whisper in which God spoke (1 Kings 19:12).
I struggle to hear God’s voice sometimes, do you? Perhaps it’s because I don’t slow down long enough, or I am distracted by other things, or maybe I am hearing it but choose not to acknowledge it. My prayer for you, my friend, is that you find yourself in God’s presence. I pray that you hear the father’s voice as clearly as I hear the wind on this February afternoon. And when you hear God speak, I pray that you respond with humility and grace. Perhaps he is asking you to reconcile a broken relationship or be more tolerant of a differing opinion. Lord knows we could use more tolerance and understanding in today’s volatile climate. Whatever God is saying to you, hold his words close to your heart and carry them with you as you make a positive impact in your church, workplace and communities.
I hope you are enjoying the February issue of MB Herald Digest. This month you’ll find a collaboration between Phil Gunther and Rod Schellenberg on the importance of being like Christ in a culture focused on entitlement and being right. Elton DaSilva explores what the Spirit may be saying to the Church today, and CCMBC reports on the recent town hall meeting on Bill C-4 and vaccine mandates. There are lots more; I encourage you to read on and explore for yourself.
Peace,
CDS
