Sleep Through the Static (Our Hundredth Post!)

Tim Chester and Steve Timmis’s book, Everyday Church: Gospel Communities on Mission , is a helpful resource on how churches can transform from people that meet an hour a week into communities that proclaim and display the good news of God’s kingdom in the context of their everyday lives.
When discussing pastoral care, which is the responsibility of every Christian—not just paid pastors, Chester and Timmis highlight four truths that even Christians overlook:·      God is great (so we do not have to be in control)·      God is glorious (so we do not have to fear others)·      God is good (so we do not have to look elsewhere)·      God is gracious (so we do not have to prove ourselves)
How often do we tell ourselves each of these truths? How often do we tell other Christians? How often do we tell people in our community?
If we are not proclaiming this good news, and it really is good news, chances are people are hearing other voices that drown them out. Chester and Timmis say people often believe distorted truths or outright lies instead of God’s truths, and the results are disastrous.
One reason people tune out God’s truth is because of the constant presence of other noise in their lives; think of it like the white noise of static. The static can come in different forms as long as it is a constant presence in our lives. Static can make everything urgent, everything hopeless, or everything doomed to the point where we feel anxious and uncomfortable at all times. We become distracted easily from what matters most: the good news of the kingdom of God.
In response, God has aimed to transform elements of our daily lives, including breath, light, sunlight, bread, and water into opportunities for us to receive his grace, but the static of the world all too often bleats out God’s voice. We cannot even take a break from the static to receive worship while we fritter about, distracted from God’s rhythms of work, rest, praise, prayer, Word, and sacrament.
If we struggle to rest on God’s promises, then chances are others struggle too. Might we make it a point to insert God and his truths into our daily conversations? What would it look like were we to tell people through our talk and our actions that God is great, God is glorious, God is good, and God is gracious? What would it look like if we were known more for our God-talk than whatever hobby-horse issue we happen to be known for instead, whether it’s being a fan of a certain sports team, proprietor of a certain business, or expert on a certain subject?
Throughout Scripture God speaks to his people, but they don’t often listen. I fear I do not listen to the voice of my heavenly Father very well either. How about you? One thing we can do is speak his promises everyday through our own lips. We would change the effects of the world’s static not only on our own lives, but also on those who hear and see us everyday.