Heaven’s White Noise

“The Heavens declare the glory of God, and the sky above proclaims His handiwork.” (Psalm 19:1)

Not long ago, I had the opportunity to spend a weekend in the mountains with some friends. Some unabashed rest time – where we ate to our hearts content and laughed until we cried. We refreshed and replenished. We spent time alone with God in nature. A week later, I had the opportunity to spend time at the beach. With sand under our feet, we laughed, played, and rejuvenated. (That’s a lot of rest time for this extroverted extrovert!). North Carolina offers a lot of natural wonders – from the mountains to the ocean – and in just one seven day period, I experienced both of them. What a joy.

In the mountains, I hung my hammock. I waited for God. A clear intention of the time away was to hear God. To listen for His voice and have confidence in my ability to hear it.  I’m walking out of a season where my confidence to hear Him was low. Places where I thought I heard Him, but the natural hasn’t come through. Places where I’m waiting… and believing… and listening.

Oh, how I want to hear His voice.

But all I could hear were the walnuts falling from the trees. All I could hear was the rustling of the trees as they let go of their leaves. All I could hear were my own head thoughts. I heard sticks fall. I heard a friend walk by on the gravel. I looked down the slope and heard the sound of the creek slowly making its way around bends and over rocks. Chipmunks, squirrels, and other creatures hurried their way across fallen leaves.

This is Heaven’s white noise.

A week later, I sat on the deck of the beach house with the same longing. “Speak to me, Father. Speak to my heart. Speak to my situations.” But all I heard were the ocean waves crash. The sound of sea gulls squawking. A pup huffing as he ran down the beach.  An American flag whipping in the breeze. All I heard was the sound of my own thoughts, my own breathing, as I listened for God’s voice.

This is Heaven’s white noise.

It’s the sound of the ocean waves His hands put into motion (Genesis 1:7).
It’s the sound of the trees rustling above head that His hands crafted on the third day (Genesis 1:11-12).
It’s the sound of the creek and the breeze and the sea gulls.
And it’s even the sound of the SNAKE who was trying to get near to me while I was in my hammock (OH NO SIR YOU DIDN’T).
It’s the sound of silence.

It’s the sound of Heaven’s white noise.

How can I bottle this and take it with me? This is what creates heart space and mind clearing. To silence the noise of man and only hear Heaven’s white noise. Not my white noise – my thoughts, my brokenness, my angst – but to hear Heaven’s. My white noise is heavy and barraging. And noisy. It’s over-intellectual. It’s fearful.

But Heaven’s. Heaven’s noise is whispering to us, waving at us, jumping up and down; it’s shouting, “I’m here! See me! Listen.” See nature. See Heaven. Hear Heaven’s white noise. It’s all around.

Don’t get me wrong, I believe God speaks in words.  I believe the scriptures are His love letter to us. I believe He impresses His intentions on hearts. And gives words to His people. I believe the “still small voice” is one of our best features – and is God-given.

But what if this is a call to silence? What if every piece of nature, every thing man cannot re-create without some of God’s dirt is to point us back to the creator Himself? I need Heaven’s white noise. I need a God who is orchestrating so intentionally that he would drop a walnut by my head to make me think of Him. The vastness of the ocean should make me feel small. The common grace of the sun rising on the just and the unjust – that’s Heaven. That’s God speaking. That’s soul relieving and replenishing. In a world where the hustle and bustle – and where posting to social media – trumps all. Stop. For a moment. Hear Heaven’s white noise.

The silencing of my noise into Heaven’s noise is exactly what my soul needs. And I bet yours, too.