Sounds

Early in the morning, my wife & I would hear the sounds of construction. Heavy trucks bring concrete and lumber for building new homes. When I hear those sounds, I know that soon we would have new neighbours. Their children would play along their streets and make new sounds. Before the rise in the morning, they hear the city garbage truck picking up the trash. In the winter they start their snow blower; in the summer they run our mower. They hear sirens when an ambulance or fire truck comes through their neighbourhood in the middle of the night. Sounds form a picture of their life. As I recalled what the Scriptures said, “The man and his wife heard the sound of the Lord God as he was walking in the garden in the cool of the day” (Genesis 3:8, NIV).

In Eden, Adam and Eve heard reminders of God's presence as a threat. They had not followed God's instruction but had obeyed another voice, that of the serpent. In our lives, we hear voices and sounds calling us in many directions. Some call us to pain and others, to life. “I was afraid because I was naked; so I hid” (Genesis 3:10, NIV). The problem of hiding and repressing one's true self and feelings goes back to the first man, Adam. When he sinned he felt guilty and exposed, so he hid himself. Sin seems to have the same effect on us all. Fearing rejection for our sins, failures and negative emotions, we hide from God and then from other people. Personal growth ceases and death as an authentic person begins. As we ask God to help us, we can sort out and follow the calls that lead to life.

Reminders of God's presence have always been around us - and have not always been welcome. Only when we face our reality, our secret sins and repressed negative emotions, and confess them to God and to one trusted person, can we ever feel forgiven, free, and become authentic and real.

Prayer Response to this featured article:
We pray we hear the sounds of God’s presence.

Profile Background:
(Written by John E. Pugh – (Montana, U.S.A) from the Upper Room Ministries, except the unrecalled date/year of published time)