The din of the world and the voice of God

Two men were walking down the sidewalks of Manhattan, one a Native American and the other a born-and-bred New Yorker. The noise was incredible: cars, buses, horns, sirens, people talking loudly in the midst of the chaos. Suddenly, the Native American said, “Listen! I hear a cricket! Do you hear it?” The New Yorker was incredulous. “No way! You couldn’t possibly hear a cricket on a Manhattan sidewalk during rush hour.” His friend disagreed, and to prove his statement, he bent down and retrieved a chirping cricket from a crack in the sidewalk. “How could you hear it?” the New Yorker asked. “Easy,” said his friend. “I’ve lived outdoors all my life. I can hear a cricket over any other kind of noise. That’s not amazing. If you want to see amazing, watch this!” And with those words, he reached into his pocket, pulled out a quarter, and dropped it on the pavement. As soon as he did, heads began to turn. It seemed as if every Manhattan-ite for blocks heard the coin as it hit the sidewalk. He had proved his point: you hear what you are listening for. Our ears pick up the sounds to which they are tuned.

Let me ask you a question. What are you listening for? Do you hear God’s voice amidst the cacophony of everyday living? Do you see His hand at work all around you? Is your heart tuned to sing His praise? We can either listen to the din of the world, or strive to hear the voice of God. The choice is ours.