Listening For the Lord

“The Earth’s Hum”

There is an old joke that asks, “Why do hummingbirds hum?” The humorous answer given is : “They forgot the words.”

Many animals hum…be it the Bee or the Bird. Humming by humans is usually used to quietly sing a song or melody without words. Sometimes it is used AS words, such as to say “Yes” or “No” by humming “Uh-huh” positively or negatively. Many hum “I don’t know” rather than enunciate. It is also used to express happiness brought on by a pleasant smell of test. Humming is often used in music of genres, from classical to jazz to R&B. Some languages incorporate it to a much greater degree than English. Wherever you go, you will find that people all across the Earth hum.

But did you know that the Earth itself……hums?

Odd as that may seem. Around the year 2000, scientific instruments did indeed detect a hum reverberating throughout the Earth. The hum is at a pitch too low for humans to hear: on a musical scale, the note would come in at 16 octaves below middle C.

The source of the hum is the ocean’s waves. When they meet foul weather, they’re pressed deep into the heart of the sea, and pound like a drum—a huge bass drum—on the ocean floor, creating the humongous hum.

We realize then that the hum had always been there, but it took sophisticated scientific instruments to hear it. Likewise, God is always speaking to His people, but it takes the right instruments to hear his voice, instruments such as the Bible, His Spirit, and the church.

Hebrews 3:15 repeats a phrase found more than a few times in scripture; “…. if ye will hear his voice, harden not your hearts.”

God is speaking, but we must be willing to listen…and do what is necessary to do so. If we ignore the instruments God provides us, the result will seem like silence even though His voice is always available. We cannot commune with the Creator if we refuse to read His word, listen to His spokesmen, or submit to Spiritual guidance.

In the book of 1 Kings chapter 19 Elijah was on top of a mountain waiting to hear form the Lord. The Bible tells us that God sent a great wind, a earthquake and a fire…but He did not speak through those loud things. It was after they were over that God spoke…through a “still small voice.”

Instead of thinking that we have to wait for some excitement, calamity or earthshaking event to hear from the Almighty, we must realize that God is always softly speaking ….if we are willing to listen.