I was driving to the office recently when I reached the point of no radio reception. I don’t have satellite radio, just the good, old fashioned FM kind, so I’m at the mercy of radio towers. I’ve got one Christian radio station up north where I live and another further south toward the office. Every morning, I hit that point of no reception in between radio towers. Many times, I’ll be in the middle of singing my heart out to a favorite song, lost in my very own praise and worship, unaware that I’m about to enter radio silence. When it happened the other day, I struggled, as I often do, trying to hold on to those last words…struggling to hear the lyrics, not wanting it to end, needing to understand the message. If I didn’t hear the song through to the end, I felt like I was missing something. Then it hit me. I could just hear the words, I was struggling to understand the message, but the music was still playing somewhere. The message still there, could still be heard, if only I could eliminate the static. If I could just get to a place where I could receive the signal better.

Sort of like God trying to get through to me through the noise of this world. So what am I missing when I can’t hear Him?

I thought, is this what is going on in my spirit? God is there, always. He’s trying to reach me and I’m there! I’m listening, I’m singing and praising and then…something distracts me. Suddenly, something shiny and of this world gets my attention and I’m off. But He’s still there. He’s playing through the noise, patiently waiting for me to travel back to His listening area and really dial in, to hear Him. So when I can bring myself to that place where I have reached beyond the world’s static, the world’s distraction, I can hear Him. His Word is just for me. A blessed message just for me! Of course, the more intently I listen, the greater the blessing for me!

What gets in the way of hearing God’s voice every day? Our to do list. The, never-got-done list. Work. Play. Responsibilities. Idols. Doubt. Negative self talk. Idle talk.

I don’t know about you, but I’m thinking about giving up my FM, intermittent transmissions for more consistent satellite reception.

(Originally published 7/14/13 in Transformed 12:2)