From the Crucible (by Pastor Linda Pugsley)

24-hour news cycle, 24-hour shopping centers, 24-hour restaurants, 24-hour traffic, 24-hour lights, music, TV…SHUT UP! Ever sit for a quiet moment with all of that shut off? What do we usually say? “Silence is deafening!” Amazing isn’t it. Silence is so unusual in today’s industrialized areas that its presence is felt as if it were still noise. Yikes! Yet, God is always inviting us away for some quiet time with Him. If He speaks in a “still, small voice,” then how can you hear Him in a clanging, loud world? Practice, honey, practice! If we let our senses dominate our thinking, the incessant overstimulation won’t allow you to focus on the “things unseen”. Silence is that buffer zone between the turmoil of the world and the treasures of the Lord. Diligently seek the silence so you will be able to hear God. Spending time alone with God is the only way to more fully develop the ability to “see” and “hear” Him. In doing that, your eyes and ears can see and hear the fulness of His glory; even on the surface of a very noisy planet. (Psalm 46:10) Endure the fire...it's producing pure gold!  

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