Finding Tranquility in a Noisy World

Much as I hate to admit it, I’ve got an addiction – and I suspect you do, too. It’s an addiction to noise. 

We wake up and our sleep cobwebs are hardly dispersed before we flick on the TV, radio or grab our smartphones to find out what we’ve missed while we were sleeping. Getting into our cars, almost immediately we turn on the radio or CD player. If we go to the gym, we’re probably wearing headphones and listening to tunes or a message of some sort from an MP3 player.

At the coffee shop, eating lunch at a restaurant, or at the dinner table, we struggle to keep our hands off our phones, even though there are perfectly intelligent, conversational humans sitting within an arm’s length from us.

Noise. Noise. Noise. The constant din is so relentless, we’re almost oblivious to it. We lose the sense that sometimes, noise annoys. Occasionally we have that rare experience of being somewhere that’s quiet, where tranquility still exists. Then we begin a frantic search…for some noise. As if we require noise as much as we do oxygen, food or water.

The problem with noise is it makes it almost impossible to hear the Lord. The Scriptures speak of the “still, small voice” of God (1 Kings 19:12). This passage appears soon after the Lord had used the prophet Elijah as a virtual one-man band, fending off hundreds of false prophets representing counterfeit gods, and then accurately predicting the end of a 3½-year drought.

After receiving word the evil queen Jezebel had put a contract on his life, Elijah fled, physically, emotionally and spiritually spent. After giving the prophet time to recover from the stressful events, God had a special message for him. He sent a mighty wind, an earthquake and fire, but the Lord’s voice wasn’t in any of those. At last came a still, small voice – the gentle, understanding whisper of God telling Elijah it was time to return to action.

Sometimes when I meet with friends I ask, “What do you think the Lord is telling you these days?” Often they shrug their shoulders, no sure how to answer. It’s probably because they’ve been so immersed in noise – TV talk shows, music being piped into the mall, YouTube videos, or just preoccupation with apps on their smartphones – that there’s no way they could hear even if God spoke to them audibly.

I don’t have a simple remedy for this, being a fellow struggler with the “noise makers” of our day. My “addiction” truly is problematic. I find myself too often visiting favorite websites or checking out social media to see what my “friends” and contacts have been up to or what they’re saying. In the evenings, turning the TV on is almost a reflex.

But there are times, wonderful times, when the “sounds of silence” find me – and I find them happily refreshing. As I write this, the only sound I hear is that of my fingers tapping on the keyboard. A small airplane just flew over, but for a few brief moments, the accustomed noise has subsided.

Although there were no phone apps, TV programs, radio commentators, or even billboards to distract them, folks in biblical days still required intentionality to find quiet. Speaking to the psalmist, the Lord commanded, “Be still, and know that I am God…. I will be exalted in the earth” (Psalm 46:10). King David, with enemies in hot pursuit, wrote reflectively, “Be still before the Lord and wait patiently for him” (Psalm 37:7).

In a recent meditation, Cindy Hess Kasper wrote about a college president urging her students to “power down” for an evening, setting aside the cell phones and stepping away from technology entirely for a while, so they could spend the time in prayer and listening to quiet, worshipful music. The effect for many of the students was a surprisingly pleasant respite from the frenzy of daily life.

Maybe we should consider something along those lines ourselves. Even more than once. As the old TV commercial used to say, “Try it. You’ll like it!”

Linking Stress, Health – and Faith

In Adrenalin and Stress, Dr. Archibald Hart discusses the link between stress and physical well-being. A series of high-stress events – including good stress, like getting married, the birth of a child, moving into a new house – as well as negative occurrences, such as the death of a loved one, losing a job, or dealing with financial setbacks, can have a cumulative effect on one’s health.

A couple weeks ago I experienced this. Over the span of days, in addition to my usual writing and editing routine, I faced an unusually demanding schedule of mostly good things: numerous lengthy business meetings, five long-distance phone interviews, two family birthday parties, church activities, a small group gathering, and an intense, four-hour consultation with the staff of a small company. Leading up to this, my car was hit by an SUV as I was entering a grocery store parking lot, prompting numerous phone calls to insurance companies and a visit to the auto body shop.

Individuals that relish constant human interaction and non-stop activity would see such a schedule as delightful. Not me. As an “extroverted-introvert,” I enjoy people and activities – in small doses. As experience has shown me, overdoses of people and activity tend to move me into stress mode.

This flurry of meetings and events left me mentally, emotionally and physically depleted. According to stress tables in Dr. Hart’s book, I had unintentionally put myself into stress overload, making an adverse physical reaction highly predictable.

The prophet Elijah understood well
the toll excess stress could take.
(Illustration by Paul Moses)

I share this not to evoke sympathy, but to introduce a favorite biblical character who’s often wrongly accused of lacking in faith. I call him the “maxed-out, pooped-out prophet.” Elijah, according to 1 Kings 18 and 19, also had a stressful series of events. While mine amounted to a flurry, his was the equivalent of an avalanche.

Elijah had prophesied a drought in Israel – and it had not rained for 3½ years. One day he confronted 450 prophets of the false god, Baal. (Maybe the very first prophet-making organization.) He suggested an unusual duel: Both sides would carve up a bull, lay it on an altar of wood, then summon their respective deities to consume the sacrifice. Outnumbered 450-to-1, Elijah graciously said, “You guys go first.”

Their false god did absolutely nothing, despite the prophets dancing, screaming and mutilating themselves to evoke a response.

When his turn came, Elijah built an altar of 12 stones with wood on the top, then dug a trench around it, filling it with water. Placing the sacrificial bull upon the altar, he decided to leave nothing to chance in proving his point. He had the sacrifice, wood and altar thoroughly drenched with water three times. Then he prayed.

Immediately the Lord sent fire that consumed the sacrifice, wood, stones, soil, even the water in the trench. Witnesses, including Israel’s king Ahab, knew without a doubt who served the true God.

Next, at God’s direction, Elijah commanded all the prophets of Baal be executed. Finally, after more than 1,250 consecutive days with no rain, the prophet forecast the drought would end – suddenly. Despite much skepticism, soon a torrential downpour sent everyone scrambling for cover.

After all this, one might have thought Elijah was on an emotional high, but when someone informed him evil queen Jezebel was out for revenge, he fled.

On this point, preachers and writers have chastised Elijah for not having strong enough faith. Balderdash! He had participated in a series of miraculous events, and even though God had performed them, the prophet’s stress hormones must have been maxed out. His energy depleted in every way, Elijah wasn’t up for another clash. So he ran.

How do we know this wasn’t due to disobedience or weak faith? Because God sent a ministering angel that caringly provided Elijah with food and allowed him to rest for many days before He gave him the next assignment. There was no word of rebuke during this recuperation period.

Moral of the story: We’re spiritual beings, and as followers of Jesus have new life through Him. But we’re also physical beings, and at times we encounter more than we can handle. We require renewal and refreshment. Even Jesus would withdraw at times by Himself to rest after miraculous demonstrations.

God gives us the privilege of joining in what He’s doing. But when we’re felling tapped out, that our physical, mental and emotional resources have been used up, the Lord understands. He says, “Take a break!” It may mean heading for the coffee shop, taking a day off, going on vacation, or even spending a day or two in bed.

Then, after we’ve had time to recharge, God says, as He instructed Elijah, “Okay, now get back into the fray!” 

The Gift of Sleep

The young live with the delusion that they know everything. Especially in the teen years. I remember it well: Suddenly you think you’re in the possession of the world’s greatest knowledge. But as we get older, and hopefully grow wiser, it becomes obvious we don’t know nearly as much as we thought.

We don’t even have to wait until our teen years to become established know-it-alls. I recall a time when I was in Maryland visiting with an aunt, uncle and cousin. It seems I was about 10 years old. For whatever reason I declared, “It’s too bad we have to sleep. If we could stay awake all the time, we could do so many more things.”

My uncle, probably in his 40s at the time, burst into laughter. “Never go to sleep? Are you kidding?” Decades later I understand why he saw the humor in my brash statement. Yes, on average we spend about one-third of our lives with eyes shut and minds in neutral, but that’s a gift. An absolute, necessary, priceless gift.

For frazzled parents, sometimes the most beautiful
sight can be a sleeping child.

For parents, sleep is beneficial not only for themselves but also for giving them a much-needed respite from their precious, but demanding, energy-sapping offspring. Many evenings, between 8 and 9, a collective sigh of relief escapes as little ones around the globe close their eyes, drift into Dreamland, and Mom and Dad shift their mental gears from high alert.

At different stages of life we may choose to limit sleep, whether we’re in college cramming the night before an important exam, putting in extra hours to meet an important deadline at work, or trying to complete necessary chores at home that have been neglected for too long.

But eventually, sleep does – and must – come. And most of the time, to borrow the famous phrase of the legendary TV icon Speedy Alka-Seltzer, “Oh, what a relief it is!” Just as our smartphones, tablets and laptop computers need recharging, so do our minds and bodies, especially after periods of high stress. Sleep is how we do it.

Not surprisingly, the Bible has lots to say about sleep – its use, and abuse. At times, whether we’re fretting over unpaid bills, a family crisis, or challenges at work, sleep doesn’t come easily. Our minds keep spinning, seeking desperately to find solutions.

Sometimes sleeplessness is necessary, even helpful. We might awaken in the middle of the night, the proverbial idea-lightbulb glowing with a solution. But often God is telling us not to worry and agonize over our pressures and problems. Instead, He says, get some sleep and things will be easier to deal with in the morning.

“It is useless for you to work so hard from early morning until late at night, anxiously working for food to eat; for God gives rest to his loved ones” (Psalm 127:2). Much of the time, when we feel at wit’s end, the Lord is telling us, “Chill out. Get some sleep. I’ve got this.”

We read about the stressed-out prophet Elijah, who successfully confronted false prophets, saw God perform miraculous acts, and accurately predicted the end to a 3½-year drought. But when he heard the evil queen Jezebel had demanded that he be killed, Elijah fled, emotionally, physically and spiritually spent.

“’I have had enough, Lord,’ Elijah said. ‘Take my life. I am no better than my ancestors.’ Then he lay down under the tree and fell asleep…. All at once an angel touched him and said, ‘Get up and eat.’… He ate and drank and then lay down again” (1 Kings 19:4-6). Rather than chastising the courageous man of God, the Lord prescribed food – and sleep – to enable him to re-energize for further service.

Often in response to a crisis we want to shout, “Do something! Anything! Just do something!” But sometimes the best something to do is get some sleep, even a quick “power nap” to help clear the cobwebs from our overtaxed minds.

At the same time the Bible offers another perspective. It says sleep is beneficial, but not to excess. “Do not love sleep or you will grow poor; stay awake and you will have food to spare” (Proverbs 20:13). “I went past the field of the sluggard… the man who lacks judgment…. I applied my heart to what I observed and learned a lesson from what I saw. A little sleep, a little slumber, a little folding of the hands to rest – and poverty will come on you like a bandit and scarcity like an armed man” (Proverbs 24:30-34).

So the principle of moderation applies: You sleep, you reap. But you snooze, you lose.

The Elijah Syndrome - and Each One of Us

This archival photo shows a wringer
washing machine, perhaps the
origin of the phrase, "Going
through the wringer."

Are you old enough to remember wringer washing machines? I’m talking about the kind with an agitator to jiggle the clothes around as they were washing, and a wringer to squeeze out moisture so the clothes wouldn’t be soaking wet hanging from the clothesline.

The clothesline? Really? Yes, but that’s fodder for another post. My mom had a wringer washer. She’d remove just-washed items from the basin and run them through the wringer to remove most of the water. (Not a good place for fingers.)

I wonder: Have you ever had a time in your life when because of work demands, or life in general, you felt like you’d been dragged through a wringer like this?

Recently a friend mentioned feeling mentally, emotionally and spiritually exhausted. I’ve been there a couple of times. During one particularly stressful period at work, I had pushed the so-called envelope as far as it would go. Physically depleted, I wound up with an illness that required heavy-duty medication and physician’s instructions to stay home and rest.

I did as advised, determining to salvage the time by catching up on reading I’d been putting off. For several days I’d sit down with a book, read a paragraph or two, and promptly fall asleep for a couple of hours. During those days I didn’t read nearly as much as I’d hoped, but got much-needed rest so I felt renewed and recharged when I returned to work.

Thinking about mental and spiritual exhaustion, I love the biblical account of Elijah in 1 Kings 18-19. In case you’re not familiar with the story, feisty prophet Elijah singlehandedly confronts hundreds of false prophets to a showdown. Elijah and the imposters prepare sacrifices on altars and then call upon their respective deities to consume the sacrifices by fire.

Despite elaborate demonstrations and even self-mutilations, the false prophets’ “gods” fail to respond. Elijah, after demanding to have his sacrifice and altar drenched with water three times for emphasis, calls upon Jehovah God and sees the entire offering instantly consumed – even the water in a trench around the altar. The false prophets, deceptions exposed, are then executed.

Next Elijah accurately predicts a torrential rain ending a three-and-a-half year drought. Quite an amazing day for the lonely ambassador for truth. A great demonstration of faith. But right after the downpour, someone informs Elijah evil Queen Jezebel has ordered his death.

That is the proverbial straw that breaks Elijah’s back mentally and spiritually, and he takes off running. He’s reached his limit. “He came to a broom tree, sat down under it and prayed that he might die. ‘I have had enough, Lord,’ he said. ‘Take my life. I am no better than my ancestors.’ Then he lay down under the tree and fell asleep” (1 Kings 19:4-5).

However, rather than chastising Elijah for having weak faith (as many preachers have accused him in their renditions of this story), God sends angels to minister to him, feeding him and letting him rest. “All at once an angel touched him and said, ‘Get up and eat.’… He ate and drank and then lay down again. The angel of the Lord came back a second time…and said, ‘Get up and eat, for the journey is too much for you’… (1 Kings 19:5-8).

So why, after defeating hundreds of false prophets and predicting a miraculous shift in weather, does Elijah head for the hills at the news of Jezebel’s threat?

For starters he was human. Years ago Dr. Archibald Hart, in his book, Adrenalin and Stress, explained during major events in life – good and bad – the body’s stress hormones are activated. Enough stress, regardless of whether it comes from positive events like marriage, getting a job promotion, buying a house or becoming a parent, or negative events like financial hardship, the death of a loved one or losing a job, and we can become tapped out physiologically. It happens.

Elijah also must have felt as one of his successors, John the Baptist, would feel centuries later – like a lone voice crying out in the wilderness. He said, “’I have been very zealous for the Lord God almighty. The Israelites have rejected your covenant, broken down your altars, and put your prophets to death with the sword. I am the only one left, and now they are trying to kill me’” (1 Kings 19:14). Honestly, can you blame Elijah for reaching the end of his rope?

The good news is God did not denounce or discipline him. He understood the prophet’s physical limitations, letting him rest and feeding him. Then, when the prophet was restored, God said in essence, “Okay, Elijah, get back into the fray. And contrary to your opinion, you’re not alone!”

So while he might have fully depleted his physical, emotional and spiritual reserves, Elijah hardly lacked for faith in his God. If anything, the prophet displayed more faith than most of us could ever imagine. We often collapse even under minor burdens, while Elijah repeatedly put his own life on the line, trusting God to come through. Which He always did.

So Elijah offers a simple yet important lesson. When the press of life has taken away everything you’ve got, take a break. Then regroup, restore, and re-engage!