Serendipitous Thoughts by Sugar Bear
"When the Noise Gets Loud"
This past Sunday,I went to church carrying a simple prayer:
"Lord, show me the truth."
Sometimes that is a dangerous prayer.
Not because God is unwilling to answer it.
But because the truth often speaks louder than the voices we have learned to live with.
This morning I looked in the mirror.
What I saw was not perfect.
What I saw was not young.
What I saw was not without scars.
But what I saw was someone deeply loved by God.
Yet if I'm honest, another voice was speaking too.
The noise of pain.
The noise of old wounds.
The noise of disappointment.
The noise of fear.
The noise that says, "You should have done more."
The noise that says, "You are not enough."
The noise that tries to drown out grace.
The strange thing is, I don't really want to listen to that voice anymore.
Why?
Because I know who I am.
Not because I am tough.
Not because I played football.
Not because I taught school.
Not because I survived hard things.
I know who I am
because of whose I am.
That is what struck me about the sermon.
Luke keeps asking:
"Who is this man?"
The baby in the manger.
The man who calms storms.
The Savior who forgives sins.
The King who rises from the grave.
Who is this man?
The answer changes everything.
Because when I know who Jesus is, I begin to remember who I am.
The pastor talked about Simeon.
An old man waiting.
Listening.
Trusting.
Then one day he held Jesus in his arms and sang.
I love that line:
"The child who made an old man sing would one day break His mother's heart."
That is life, isn't it?
The things we love most often carry the greatest risk of heartbreak.
Children.
Friends.
Marriage.
Ministry.
Calling.
Love always costs something.
Yet Simeon sang anyway.
Mary loved anyway.
Jesus came anyway.
Perhaps faith is learning that God's song is still playing even when life sounds like noise.
The difference between noise and music is order.
The difference between chaos and hope is Christ.
The difference between merely surviving and truly living is discovering your place in God's song.
Today, I am reminded that I am not the composer.
I am not even the conductor.
I am simply invited to sing my part.
And that is enough.
"When the noise gets loud, don't listen to every voice. Listen for the One who knows your name."
God bless you and this ministry!
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