Discerning  Truth

You can listen to today’s devotion by clicking on this SoundCloud link.

My daughter has super-hero style hearing. From the scratching of pen on paper and the constant hum from lighting to cars running blocks away, she literally hears everything. Bombarded by every sound imaginable her brain stopped trying to filter out any of it. It reached the point where she had to wear noise cancelling headphones in order to function.  Her wish was to be totally deaf and experience silence.

This is the way we Christians often feel. There is so much clamor around us that we want to silence it all. We either do this by trying to be even louder, inevitably adding to the ruckus, or by shutting it all out and attempting to disengage from the world entirely. Neither method is truly working.  What is the solution?

^“I have given them Your word; and the world has hated them, because they are not of the world, even as I am not of the world.  I do not ask You to take them out of the world, but to keep them from the evil one. They are not of the world, even as I am not of the world. Sanctify them in the truth; Your word is truth”.
John 17: 14-17 New American Standard Version

Recently my daughter was blessed with a new device called an ear filter.  This small device has changed all of our lives. An overabundance of indistinguishable noise, suddenly acquired discernable differences! Finally, her brain knows how to filter out the unimportant noises so she can focus on the important things she needs to hear. Now she is happier and more confident.

God’s Word is our filter. When we spend time in His Word we learn how to properly filter the world around us. We can discern truth and make sense of all that is happening. The shouting of the world becomes quiet residual noise and we can focus on what God is doing.  As God sanctifies us through His Word we become joyful and confident, better knowing how to react and respond to the many things that used to distress us.

Text and Photo Copyright Richelle Hecker