Aromas
When out for a walk early one morning last autumn, there had been some miserly rain, such that the footpath was moist. I caught just a hint of the familiar damp pavement scent – not something that we might describe as a pleasant odour, but a friendly one that those living in the UK have been used to from our earliest days. There are other scents that I recognise from childhood, of certain shrubs that are grown as hedging plants in gardens. Again, these aren’t delightful smells in themselves, but that recall from infancy gives them a positive feel. We tend to rejoice in sweeter and stronger perfumes, such as from a rose bush, a lily or honeysuckle, for instance. But subtle, less demanding aromas have their place and fulfil a meaningful purpose. Just as drab colours have an important place in our attire, decor or furnishing, so subtle and sour scents add to the richness and diversity of our experience of nature.
Subtle
We live in a world much influenced by the bold, bright and bombastic, such that our sensitivity to the subtle may become diminished, to our detriment. We recognise that our concentration spans have shortened due to the nature of modern methods of communication. Few still sit down to write letters, preferring rather to knock out a quick email or send a short text message. Entertainment is fast and furious compared to not so very long ago – we may feel when watching films that were made in many decades past, that they seem ponderous compared to the latest releases. Perhaps the world we live in has caused us to become less patient than our parents’ generation. Maybe we need to step back occasionally from their overly committed, super busy lives and both soak in and delight in the subtle.
The whisper
The thing is that God has a tendency to be subtle. He isn’t demanding – he is extremely patient. God doesn’t shout, he whispers, and if we want to know him and hear him, then we need to quieten our hearts and listen. In the first book of Kings, we read about Elijah’s encounter with God. He was told to go out of the cave he was sheltering in and stand in the presence of the Lord, who was going to pass by. We then read about a great and powerful wind that tore the mountains apart and shattered the rocks. This was followed by an earthquake, and then a fire. All dramatic and no doubt deeply disturbing for Elijah, but God was not in these vigorous and striking phenomena; it was after they had passed that Elijah heard God speak – in a gentle whisper, or a still small voice as some translations have it (1 Kings 19:11-13). God’s power was indicated by the disturbance of the elements, but his speaking was in a subtle sound. It is most often the case that if we are to hear God, then we need to be actively listening for his whisper, else he may appear silent, his voice being drowned out by the noise of life.
Listening
Someone will ask how we actively listen. The starting place must surely be to make time to hear. If we fill our lives with hectic activity, whether physically or mentally, then finding the time to stop and listen may seem a big challenge. Yes, we might do that for a moment, saying “speak to me Lord”, but I don’t imagine that this approach will bear fruit – he is unlikely to fit into our schedule; we need to comply with his. Making time to commune with God is an essential Christian discipline, but it doesn’t have to be ‘empty’ time, nor a period of spiritual intensity. On one occasion, God spoke to me profoundly when I was engaged in a tedious task. I was painting a bare brick wall, manipulating the bristles of my brush to compensate for the irregularities in the mortar – as I recall, this work took me most of the day. Dull though it was, it afforded the opportunity to try to process the personally momentous events of the day before. I struggled to understand why God had been so good to me. It was only after a long time, when I reached the end of my capacity to reason further, that I sensed God say that it was because he loved me. Now, that wasn’t resting, but it was a time that was God-focused, albeit with me going through an intense time of questioning. It was when I came to the end of my resources that he revealed the answer to me. Often it is at such a point that we are able to hear God speaking to us, and not before!
Receiving
If we want to hear from God, then we need to be listening – open-hearted and ready to recognise his voice. We might take time to distinguish when he is speaking (see 1 Samuel 3:1-10) and to appreciate what he is saying, but as we grow in our relationship with him, we will learn to hear more readily. Hearing God and receiving guidance is one of the most challenging aspects of the Christian walk of faith, but if we will take the time to listen, then God is very ready to speak – he is not against us in any way. He loves us, wants the very best for us and will surely speak when we quieten our hearts and listen for his voice.