April 20, 2023
Melissa Valerio
Life with my autistic daughter is very interesting. And very loud! She has a default way of handling disappointments — to yell and scream her frustration at everyone around her. Sometimes when she gets in her mood, I have to shut my ears off until she’s ready to listen again. Then I’m able to reason with her and we continue the lesson on how to handle things more appropriately. She’s done it since birth and please God help me if she continues to do it for the rest of her life. My blood pressure goes skyrocketing and I’m anxiously trying to “fix” whatever the problem is. It’s amazing how sound can affect not only the body, but also the mind and spirit.
Like infrasound. Infrasound is a low-frequency sound that’s so low, it’s not detectable by the human ear. It’s there, but in a sense, it’s hidden. It’s a sound that’s more felt than heard. A sound that’s perceived through the spirit and body, versus through the ear. Like the rumbling of a thunderstorm. How many times have you gotten a headache or body aches before the storm came? That’s because your body is perceiving the sound of the storm before it ever hits your ears.
This is much like how we hear God’s voice when He’s talking to us. Elijah experienced this when he was running for his life from Jezebel. When he was at one of his lowest points in life, wanting to die more than anything else, God spoke to him there. “Then the Lord said to Elijah, ‘Go, stand in front of me on the mountain. I, the Lord, will pass by you.’ Then a very strong wind blew. The wind caused the mountains to break apart. It broke large rocks in front of the Lord. But that wind was not the Lord. After that wind, there was an earthquake. But that earthquake was not the Lord. After the earthquake, there was a fire. But that fire was not the Lord. After the fire, there was a quiet, gentle voice. When Elijah heard the voice, he used his coat to cover his face and went to the entrance to the cave and stood there. Then a voice said to him, ‘Elijah, why are you here?'” (1 Kings 19:11-13 ERV) This is such a powerful picture of how God’s spirit speaks to us, and how we hear Him. It’s not through all the chaos and noise, rather it’s through the gentle quietness that we perceive His voice. We cannot hear Him audibly. But like the infrasound, we can perceive Him through our mind and spirit. Jesus said we (who belong to Him) know His voice. (John 10:27) That’s because our spirits are designed to respond to our Maker. Just like my body automatically responds to Holly’s forceful yells, my spirit responds to the Lord’s gentle voice calling to my spirit. Now all I need to do is figure out how to get Holly from ultrasound to acceptable sound 🤣
Prayer: God in Heaven, thank You for all the different sounds You made. The most precious of them all is the sound of Your voice. Teach us how to listen for Your voice in the midst of chaos and confusion. In the name of Your Son, Jesus Christ, Amen.
Action: Read 1 Kings 19:11-18. Notice the outline of the text. First, we see a command from God to Elijah, next we see chaos and noise, then we see God speaking through silence, inviting Elijah into conversation. After that, we see Elijah pour his heart out to God, and then God gives Elijah a new command followed by encouragement. This is relationship with God. He wants so much to have conversations with us, to give us direction in life, and to encourage us in His strength. Today, let’s start listening to His voice and obeying.
image: freepik.com