Change the Frequency
Photo Credit: Ira008, via Pixabay
My husband and I enjoy taking road trips together. We like to hold hands and tell stories and explore new neighborhoods. Sometimes, we drive in silence and just look up at blue sky and clouds.
When the space and silence gets long, my man will tell me to try to find something to listen to on the radio. I will hit the scan button and roll through the stations — static, jazz, more static, classical, noisy static, salsa, rap, static. I scan until I hit an oldies station. Then, we sing along with rockers from our youth. If we don’t know the words, we make them up, but I am always surprised at how my husband remembers all the lyrics to 70’s songs.
This doesn’t last for long though. After a few minutes, we get tired of the static and the noise and the empty lyrics. So, as we draw closer to home, I change the frequency once again and find a station that spills out songs of life. The worship feeds our hunger for substance and meaning.
Last night, I was thinking about how my mind is like a radio. Honestly, sometimes my thoughts are empty. The old melodies I play are a cacophony of defeat. I need to change the frequency of my thoughts. I need to stop letting toxic people rent space in my head.
If I want to hold fast, I must learn to rule over the mental radio dial. Skip past the static and stop listening to the empty lyrics.
I need to learn to sing a new tune.
Don’t tolerate people who try to run your life…They’re a lot of hot air, that’s all they are.They’re completely out of touchwith the source of life, Christ,who puts us together in one piece,whose very breath and blood flow through us.He is the Head and we are the body.We can grow up healthy in Godonly as he nourishes us.Colossians 2:19, MSG
Q4U: How do you hold fast and tune in to Him in the midst of all the noise?
I am sharing “In His Grip” and joining like-minded sisters at Circles of Faith, Three-Word Wednesday, Words of Life Wednesdays, Tell His Story, A Little R and R, Testimony Tuesday, Soli Deo Gloria, Rich-Faith Rising, Sharing His Beauty, Playdates with God, and Hear it on Sunday: Use it on Monday.
Let’s hold fast together in 2014.
Great post and cool pic! I’m your neighbor on Unite link-up <3
Thanks for stopping by, Julia! 🙂
Ohhhhh, Lyli, you’re playing my song. Great post 🙂 How we tune out the other ‘noise’? It is a job of work constantly. But He is faithful.
Yes, He is. And, I am very thankful for that. 🙂
I think that’s a great analogy, Lyli. We tend to listen to old classics more when we’re on a trip and have to scan radio stations, and that’s fine, but it always feels like coming home when we come upon a station with our Jesus music. 🙂
Spirit filled music keeps me going. On tough days, I have it playing in the house constantly.
Here’s how I identify the source of the voices in my head.
The Holy Spirit’s agenda is restoration, Satan’s agenda is condemnation, and my agenda is usually self-justification!
Psalm 19:14 is my go to verse for my goal: Let the words of my mouth and the meditations of my heart be acceptable in your sight O Lord.
That’s what I desire. I want God to be pleased with my thoughts and words.
When I need to stop the static—the ‘strongholds’ of entrenched & destructive thoughts, I go to 2 Corinthians 10:3-5.
This passage has helped me quit rehearsing a squabble with my husband,
stop reliving a slight or hurtful words from a friend,
cease ANY conversation Satan is trying to have with me about anything,
and hit stop on my own little internal tape recorder that plays my failures, bloopers, & blunders 24/7.
I have a list of verses—now this has to be a post for tomorrow—and they help me focus on the truth instead of getting sucked into listening to the static.
Thanks for the timely reminder that I have a choice of channels!
Blessings Lyli,
Kelly
That’s a good word, Kelly. I love that verse from Psalms 19 — one of my favorites.
I have to say all I listen to is Christian music these days because everything else feels so loud. I have it playing all day it work too. I can walk away and get frustrated by something but when I return back to my desk the songs bring me back to where I need to be. When my thoughts go where they shouldn’t go…the music reminds of who I am in Him. Great post, friend. Sorry it took my so long to stop by. Blessings to you.