Read Habakkuk 2:19–20
Most noises in church don’t bug me. I’ve heard ‘em all.
People snoring. Babies crying. Rain falling. Crickets chirping. Sound systems popping. Toilets flushing. Offering and communion plates dropping. Sirens screaming, and cars speeding by outside. Kids yelling, and cell phones ringing inside. Hymnals hitting a bunch of piano keys. Organists standing up on a foot full of bass notes. Coughing. Sneezing. Blowing. Laughing. Crying. Shouting. Whispering. Gasping. Yawning. Clapping.
I’ve even witnessed a during-the-sermon, pew-to-pulpit, heated argument between parishioner and preacher (the parishioner won!), and I’ve refereed several fights between husbands and wives both before and after church meetings. Tacky stuff.
So it’s no big deal...noises really come with the territory. Even some “joyful noises” are part of the package. I’ve heard a guy sing so badly he sounded like a massive bull moose with his hind legs caught in a bear trap. And a few sopranos in my time really needed to be put out of their misery. I’ve often been thankful that stained glass doesn’t shatter. But their motives were right, so I suppose they will receive their reward. I hope it’s heavenly voice lessons, or we’re all in for an awfully long eternity.
But our times of corporate and private worship ought to carry a large measure of silence and awe...befitting the object of our praise.
What sorrow awaits you who say to wooden idols, “Wake up and save us!” To speechless stone images you say, “Rise up and teach us!” Can an idol tell you what to do? They may be overlaid with gold and silver, but they are lifeless inside. But the LORD is in his holy Temple. Let all the earth be silent before him. (Habakkuk 2:19–20)
Regardless of the quality of our singing voice, it’s time we silence our hand-held devices and open our hearts as we enter God’s presence. Let us come with awe and wonder. No more flippant attitudes as if we’re finding our seat at the ball game. No, none of that.
The Lord is in His holy Temple...the least we can do is order our lives and adjust our attitudes to keep it quiet before Him.
Devotional content taken from Good Morning, Lord...Can We Talk? by Charles R. Swindoll. Copyright © 2018. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, a Division of Tyndale House Ministries. All rights reserved.
The full devotional can be purchased at https://www.tyndale.com/p/good-morning-lord-can-we-talk/9781414380681.
