The Noise

[RedeemedJedi7]

This might not be about physical health, but maybe it might be. It came in my study this morning. I've been struggling lately with a lot life's problems and distractions. Now, circumstances we really can't do anything about, but what about other things? We're a Christian gaming guild, a place where a community of believers can come together and enjoy a privilege God has given us, and do it together in fellowship. While there's nothing wrong with that, what happens when we focus on the gift instead of the giver. I was reading in James and Revelation this morning (James 1:17 and Revelation 1:19 as a matter of fact ) and they talked about how we as the body of Christ are a "chosen race," a "royal priesthood," a "holy nation" set apart as God's possession, and still everything in our lives that's good-family, friends, love, support, imagination, etc.-comes from Him. However, I've found myself the tendency to cling to those things that can tend to distract and make the Giver of those gifts seem not as appealing. I also believe I'm not the only one in this boat.

On top of that, all of "these good things" start vying for attention as we move into "multi-task" mode where we're trying to fit all of those "good things" in a twenty-four span as we can. Take my typical day. I try to start in spending time with God, yet my mind keeps shifting toward what I'm going to do next, or I have music going, a web browser up (for dictionary purposes, of course! :P) making focusing totally on the Source of all these good things nigh impossible. Then let's get to the rest of the day. I'll be researching something for work, watching a show on my other monitor, switching between tabs looking at facebook, email, even this site, all at once trying to make sure I don't miss out on anything, and yet my full attention goes to none of the above. So, how do I expect to turn off all that noise when I've trained my mind to think about twenty or more different things simultaneously. It reminds me of a quote (again, here's a tangent ) from a show I used to watch a lot where a certain elderly character was going on a tirade about "this generation" explaining that it's no wonder there's thousands of diagnoses of ADD/ADHD when they're bombarded with video games, TV, internet, and all other media catching them up in the funnel of a tornado of sensory overload.

Now, all that being said, let's go back to the time spent with Jesus in the morning. I've heard and read a lot of challenges to listen as much as I talk in prayer, but finding the quiet in my mind is like trying to find a datacron in the middle of enemy territory while having 5 other quests to complete-had to use a TOR reference . Take this morning again. I was studying, yet I had pandora on, dictionary.com up, my email, and a Word document none of which really had anything to do with spending real time with Jesus though I'd argue that dictionary.com was used to look up words I didn't know, and the pandora had worship music that I argued was pouring praise into my mind as I studied. And those things aren't bad. It's just when I finally decided to shut it all off after being convicted this morning that I was clinging to the gifts rather than the Giver, being in a quiet room with the verses I'd read this morning trying to really "listen" to God was rife with thoughts of "shoot! where'd my mind just go for the last five minutes?" My mind's been trained, I believe somehow, to start meditating and latch on to a related thought, and then to another, and before I know it, I've gone from thinking about who God has been in my life to what my favorite show in middle school was in less than five minutes. Now, it's a discipline I must master to even focus on who God is for more than that amount of time.

And for all of us, it's different things. I'm single, with no family and currently no real responsibilities, but a lot of you have those things and more, trying to juggle all of them while all that "noise" vies for your attention. So, my challenge is this. Can we (and I mean all of us) take at least a week, if not more, and carve out a period of time-no matter how short due to different people's ability-to shut everything off, find a quiet place, and think on a passage, or a thought of who God has been in your life, and listen to what God might be saying through it and develop the ability to quiet our minds long enough to really commune with Jesus and as a result, see Him for who He is and "the things of earth will go strangely dim?" I'll try and I hope you not only try, but for those that know each other well in this guild, hold each other accountable on this.

**EDIT: Moved to General Discussion - Vor'en**

[Meloraen]

This is a wonderful post! I wholeheartedly agree - it can be so easy to think that we're investing ourselves in the word, and spending time with God, but when we step back and think about how many distractions actually prevent us doing so, I know for me personally, it's astounding! I take my quiet time in the morning, before I go to work. My routine is to check my e-mails, check the bank account, check facebook, do my devotion, then head out the door. Most mornings, my brain is quiet enough where I can do that with a good level of success. However, on mornings when I'm rushed, or see something interesting on facebook, or want to figure out a bit more of our budget, my time for God is either cut short, or my mind wanders during the time I should be spending with Him. I think it's a great idea to challenge ourselves to take time each day to remove ALL distractions (even if it's just for 5-10 minutes), and not just assume that we're spending enough time with God just by spending time with other Christian gamers (which is awesome, don't get me wrong), or by just having that Pandora worship channel on in the background. By removing the distractions and making a CONSCIOUS effort for PURPOSEFUL quiet time/devotional time, it will help us draw that much closer to Him Thanks so much for your post!

[Toryn Sinbane]

I support this thread whole-heartedly and it mirrors internal struggles I have been having also. Thank you for taking the time to post this.

[Energeyes]

Amen bro. You hit the nail on the head. Thanks for posting this.

[Voren Onasi]

RedeemedJedi7 wrote:

So, my challenge is this. Can we (and I mean all of us) take at least a week, if not more, and carve out a period of time-no matter how short due to different people's ability-to shut everything off, find a quiet place, and think on a passage, or a thought of who God has been in your life, and listen to what God might be saying through it and develop the ability to quiet our minds long enough to really commune with Jesus and as a result, see Him for who He is and "the things of earth will go strangely dim?"