Chi & The Branch

Worship song: To Worship You I live by Israel & New Breed

Verse: Away from the noise of your songs!

I will not listen to the music of your harps

Amos 5:23

The world clearly defines noise as this unwanted sound that’s considered to be unpleasant to the ear. But in the bible, there are 70 instances in which the word is used and it’s meaning is multifaceted: nearly always in it’s negative state, noise describes confusion. And yet in it’s positive state, this is the mode with which He presents himself, for which I am often wholesomely unprepared! That joyful kind of noise, the noise in Psalms that we are all called to make before Jesus.

Dare I say it! At which point though does the worship become noise? Let’s dig deeper. The verse above is used to describe a time in Israel that gravely disappoints the prophet Amos. He laments that Israel has fallen so far into rebellion that when faced with the enemy they would be doomed. So, these Israelites decide that the only way to save themselves is to perform religious ceremonies and worship God with what Amos calls a ‘noise’ of songs. Oh sweet Jesus! Now this was a teachable moment for me. There are times when I wake up and I would rather blast my worship so much so that I miss the opportunity to delve recklessly, completely and unyieldingly with God. I get so caught up in the noise of worship, I lose the instant he wants to commune with me.

Like me, so many of us tend to operate on this lukewarm capacity. Noise is so blind. It is the poor signal and feedback on your phone that continually creates traffic in your mind and distracts you from what is truly important. Our lives are cluttered by noise. It takes me back to the episode of Mary and Martha in Luke 10: 38-42. Martha is so busy prioritising unnecessary things and distracted by all the preparations at the sight of Jesus, while Mary chooses to sit at the feet of Jesus. Mary is not one to miss the moment. Martha however is plugged in the noise.

Noise is not a territory that I wish to remain in. In fact, my continual heart check now before worship is to ask am I truly worshipping? I mean the real Hebrew derivative kind of Shachah worship which characterizes the depressing of oneself, the bowing down and falling flat at the mercy of Yahweh. Get the picture? Let’s move away from the noise into a place of outstretched arms, humbling ourselves before him and pay attention to building our relationship with Him.

Prayer – Thank you Jesus for your desire to relate to and through me. Like your Word says in Psalms, thank you for being the kind of God that approaches me with sweet kisses. I recognise this Lord as an expression of your deep love for me. Help me strip away all the noise so that I may have my undivided devotion to you too. Refine and tighten my sensitivity towards your voice, I want to know when you are speaking, when you are moving, I no longer want to be distracted. This is a choice I make today, Lord equip me with your Grace to do it. In Jesus Name.