Hearing God: Is your life a Symphony or a Cacophony?

Covid-19: What a Racket!

Recently, the Holy Spirit interrupted my prayer of thanksgiving, swapping the word symphony with cacophony.

“Thank You, Holy Spirit for your symph-“

“—cacophony,“ He interrupted.

I cackled out loud because…well…it bubbled up out of me in such an un-intentional, unexpected way that it tickled me funny…

…and then…after I promptly googled cacophony to find out its definition…it shivered me timbers!

A word I have probably never used rose up out of my own mouth meaning the precise opposite of what I intended.

Now that’s weird…too weird to be coincidence.

What I considered to be a blessing, He called a racket.

Surrender What You Know to Receive What You Need

Mind you, I wasn’t giving ear to mainstream news or just any media source. These were my few select and favorite teachers and preachers, men and women of God that the Lord had many times used to speak truth to my heart.

I was giving thanks for the “feast” of their voices bringing godly perspectives into the bewildering events of this hour.

Some emphasized ‘selah’…remaining still and quiet, warning against much pursuit or activity…while others shouted SEIZE THE DAY AND GET TO WORK!

I thought perhaps He wanted the ‘healthy’ bit of tension between the two…but He thought differently.

What is more likely the case is that…

…although there is often a “corporate” word that touches and instructs us all…

…God is speaking to each of us in our ‘quarantined’ quarters…differently.

Even when the overarching message is the same, the personal word is nuanced, and those nuances can be lost in the strong opinions of great leaders.

The nuances may also be lost if we think once we’ve heard we no longer need to ask.

It is vital we submit our thoughts to the Lord right now, as there are increasingly competing interests out for real estate in our minds.

Wait Until it Harmonizes

The manner in which “cacophony” rose in my spirit was neither glad nor angry but matter-of-fact. In my mind’s eye I instantly saw an expressionless face. (-_-)

It was funny at first but when the word didn’t ‘budge’ I stopped dead in my prayerful tracks.

A cacophony, or “meaningless mixture of sounds” would not come from my Father, especially not during such a time of unrest when we need more than ever to hear His voice that brings us peace and leads us to “green pasture”.

No, God is not the author of confusion.

His is a beautiful sound, and when He speaks to us, He sometimes does it like a song or a divinely choreographed dance.

He may send signs, riddles, wonders, along with words, impressions, and visions…

…and even when at times we can’t see all the connections…

…we wait until the notes harmonize and a message emerges.

That is…we wait until all the pieces fit together perfectly…and we receive the crisp, clear word of the Lord.

It’s the harmony that confirms the word.

A Sweet Rebuke

At first, I had shrugged off “cacophony”, thinking it was just me getting the wrong word, which I do fairly often to the gleeful delight of my husband, a masterful wordsmith with a stellar vocab who finds it “cute” when I misuse a colloquialism, or name something with the total wrong verbiage—

—like when I called a selfie-stick a “pogo” stick. He still loves to remind me of that one.

Shrug though I did, the word wouldn’t leave me. It just seemed to linger, rising to the top of my thoughts occasionally, causing me to wonder and ask for understanding.

A few days passed, and then it happened.

I got a one-word text from my amazing mother. I had asked her to remind me the title of a movie, to which she replied, “Cacophany.”

My mouth dropped.

The name of the movie was definitely not cacophony.

After what seemed like an eternity, she sent another text, “Cocoon.”

It was a typo. Heaven manifested and God Almighty showed up to me with astonishing clarity…through a typo.

I absolutely love this adventure of walking with God!

The word in the ‘accidental’ text had dropped in my spirit like a steel hammer.

Folks, I don’t believe in coincidences…but even if I did…this one was a no-brainer. If you walk with Holy Spirit at all, you know exactly what I mean.

It was wonderful, because the “voice” of God is magnificent and sweet whether He is correcting, rebuking, blessing, or encouraging. The voice of God gives life.

It was terrible…because I was so woefully ‘off’.

I knew, now, that what I had considered a symphony He called a bunch of mettlesome noise, clanging, distracting, “meaningless,” and not from Him.

So, naturally, I repented.

I also laughed…and trembled. It’s hard to describe how you feel when the Lord simultaneously reveals you’ve got it all wrong…while pouring His joy and good counsel over you in loving reassurance.

Not a Special Ability…But a ‘Habit’ of Listening

It’s not because I’m so holy…or so super-spiritual…or so supernaturally endowed that I heard this redirection from the Spirit.

It is the fruit of daily, regular, otherwise un-spectacular conversations with Him born from meditating on His word, the scriptures.

If your heart is to be willing and to be guided by the Spirit of God as a general rule, and you simply make it a daily practice…

…at the moment you’re least expecting, not looking for it, don’t even know to ask…that listening ear will be there for you, sharpened and primed for when you need it most.

Whose Side Are You On?

Who are you listening to?

We are in the age of information. There is no shortage of opinions, voices, messages, or advice.

This can be a great thing…unless we approach it in immaturity, absorbing and receiving without continually filtering the information through the great Source of all Truth, the one who loves us and whose desires for us are better than we even dare to hope for ourselves.

He will protect us from taking sides, or being led into pointless debate, endless questioning, or slander.

I will say this…though conspiracies may in fact be more than theory, most often they do little but to distract and upset us. We must have our thoughts and attention directed by Jesus…not by the cacophony all around.

Joshua stepped up to him and said, “Whose side are you on—ours or our enemies’?” He said, “Neither. I’m commander of God’s army. —Joshua 5:13-14 MSG

Take care that you are not on the side of any “army” of the world, be it a political party, religious affiliation, set of opinions, club, group, or tribe. We are called to be for God’s army…the only army that comes to heal all people and govern all with true justice and peace.

This means that you remain “for” your attackers, along with your tribe.

Going forward, I will be more careful about absorbing the noise. It is better to risk being out of touch with the world than to miss even a moment of the pulse of His heart or the notes of His symphony.

Help When You Need It

God, you’re such a safe and powerful place to find refuge! You’re a proven help in time of trouble—more than enough and always available whenever I need you.—See Psalm 46:1-3 TPT

What I experienced was God being a “proven help” exactly when I needed Him, even though I wasn’t aware of that need. Only He knows the rabbit hole I almost fell into.

Take a moment and thank God for His faithfulness to you, and if you haven’t lately, invite Him to bring you any correction He wishes, because He will answer that invitation and your asking will soften your heart to receive it…

…which is awesome because His corrections always result in greater freedom and happiness for you.