Volume KnobMy friend Dr. Brent Taylor shared a brief devotional with a group recently, and it packed a punch. This busy pastor had just finished a seven-week sabbatical that his church gave him, so he could be refreshed and renewed. Very thoughtful of his church.

The phrase that caught my attention as Brent spoke was “the volume of life.” He wasn’t talking about quantity, like “the abundant life.” No, this pastor, professor, speaker, husband, and father was reflecting on all the things swirling around us every day that pull us away from God and His best for us. We are media people, and we have to recognize that we are part of that volume, that noise. And we are subjected to the volume of life that robs us of our time and attention for the Lord.

Have you ever come to the end of a busy day and realized you didn’t read your Bible or have any quality (much less quantity) time with the Lord? That wasn’t what you intended. The volume of life drowned out God’s still, small voice…God’s desire to communicate with you. I can speak from experience. This happens.

Brent probed a little deeper when he confessed that though he says the Lord is the most important thing in his life and in his schedule, “My life shows I am a liar.” Ouch. I’m thinking there are days that if someone followed me and tracked how I spent my time, I would fall into that same category.

So, what do we do? Live like a monk in a monastery? I doubt that is God’s plan for us. Remember the admonition to be in the world and not of it? But Jesus did give a warning about being caught up in the things of this world when he talked of the sower and the seed.

[blockquote author=”Mark 4:19 NASB” link=”” target=”_blank”]…but the worries of the world, and the deceitfulness of riches, and the desires for other things enter in and choke the word, and it becomes unfruitful.[/blockquote]

Turn down the volume!

Carve out quality time in God’s Word. Don’t be distracted from God’s best. Spend more time listening to the Lord’s voice than in giving Him the list of things on your agenda. Turn off the radio, the TV, withdraw from social media if you need to. Let God’s voice into your life.

The old hymn says:

All to Jesus I surrender,
All to Him I freely give.

Do we surrender these noisy things in our lives so we can spend time with our Lord? Do we freely give Him our time and attention? I’m thinking about these things today. I have some adjustments to make.