Day 163, Year 1

Quieting the Noises Within

“You will reduce the noise of aliens, as heat in a dry place; as heat in the shadow of a cloud, the song of the terrible ones will be diminished.” (Isaiah 25:5 NKJV)

“You” in today’s verse refers to the God of Israel. Previously, it was mentioned that people need a quiet heart so as to hear the voice of Jesus clearly. Today, we are going to introduce another approach to address the clamor within our hearts and minds. This method begins by inviting the Lord Jesus into our hearts first. After that, we can ask Him to subdue all the clamorous noises of unbelief, doubt, violence, fear, etc., in us. For some people, quieting their hearts and minds might be somewhat difficult or even impossible. The voices within them are either fluctuating or difficult to keep under control, and even these unpredictable or unrestrained voices can suddenly emerge without warning. In such situations, the only solution is to firstly invite the presence of Jesus in us, so that those clamors can be suppressed by Him.

The “aliens” in today’s verse refer to those who worship gods or idols. Only when Jesus truly enters into us can He separate belief from unbelief and regulate our inner clusters and voices. Only when He takes control of our lives can He manifest and subdue everything alien to Him. Besides, in the Chinese Union Version, “song” was translated as “victory song.” Often, it is when songs that truly belong to God always resonate in our hearts that the victory, yet terrible, songs can then be diminished.

When the voice of Jesus comes, the clamor subsides. When the triumphant songs of the Lord prevail, the songs of the terrible ones fade away. However, there are several things that believers need to do. First, we should earnestly desire the powerful presence of Jesus. It is not easy for a chaotic heart and mind to receive His visit joyfully. Hence, we might need to call upon His mercy many times to reach our hearts and calm the noises within. Second, agreeing with Jesus’ judgment on every truth. When the Lord considers certain things as “alien” or “terrible,” many people might not fully agree with Him. After all, many have lived among “aliens” for such a long time and have become too familiar with the songs of the “terrible ones.” We need to completely agree with His judgments on those clamorous voices in order to remove them. Third, cooperating with Jesus’ work. Sometimes He wants us to command those noises to be silenced and those unbelieving victory songs to cease in His name. This is because He wants to test how resolute we are in rejecting those noises to welcome His Lordship along with His voices genuinely.

Reflection questions:

1) Do you need to perpetually invite the Lord Jesus into your heart and mind to quiet all your inner clamors or noises?

2) Do you feel the need to remove the unbelieving “victory songs” so as to hear the songs of triumph to Jesus? If so, how would you rely on His help to remove the fake ones?