Psalm 46:10 “Be still, and know that I am God.”
On a cold winter’s morning in January 2008, an experiment was carried out in a Washington metro station to assess the behaviour of commuters. The idea was to analyse people’s reactions to a busker playing the violin. Variables such as the beauty of the music and commuter time constraints were focused on to assess levels of musical appreciation. The big deal with this particular experiment was the person playing the violin. It was the famous violin virtuoso Joshua Bell, who only three days before had sold out the Boston Symphony Hall, playing to more than ten thousand people. Now sat on the floor in the lobby of the metro, he used his 1713 Stradivarius valued at several million dollars, and played six of his most beautiful pieces of music. In preparation for the experiment, the metro management thought they might have to draft in extra security to cope with the crowds but a strange thing happened. Out of context Bell became invisible. A few commuters and a couple of children paused, but the majority of people rushed ahead into their morning, unaware of the treasure in their midst.
It’s so easy to get caught up in the busyness of life that we miss the beauty and the blessings of God. We can be so overwhelmed by all the noise bombarding us that we miss his gentle whisper. So Erwin McManus asks: “Will you refuse to be nothing more than an echo in a world full of meaningless noise?” Instead of ‘Thank God It’s Friday’, the new TGIF is Twitter, Google, iPhone, Facebook – and it’s a culture that enables us to stay in touch, stay on top, stay informed, stay current 24/7 but also makes it almost impossible to encounter deep peace and quiet.
God is speaking all the time. He’s a whole lot better and more worth listening to than Joshua Bell on his Stradivarius. Will you just rush on by today?
Lord, help me pause, wait, slow down, and listen attentively to you today. Amen!
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