Like a Loud Train

At the end of our backyard a huge long American freight train chundles along at least four or five times a day, every day of the week. Midnight and three in the morning our house literally (no exaggeration!) shakes and vibrates in response as the train chugs slowly past, pulling it’s sixty plus rattling carriages. With no regard to the time of night, or the sleeping families, the driver mercilessly holds and honks his enormous horn, just a hundred feet from where we all sleep, to scare off wild animals on the track and to alert late night drivers approaching the crossing.

When we moved into this house, on the first night, when the first train passed – Andy and I jumped up in bed wondering what on earth was happening, as the house shook and the train horn blared. We could hardly believe what was going on! And the nights that followed we would keep waking up in alarm as the train rattled past, wondering how we would ever survive living in the USA!

Strangely enough, after a few weeks and months, we realised we weren’t even noticing the train any more. Somehow in the business and normality of life we had learnt to zone out to the noise and the vibrations. The house still vibrated and the horn still blared but we had become immune to its presence.

It’s easy to get on with life and be busy making our own plans and even talking and ministering for the Lord, yet forgetting the importance of simply hearing what Almighty God has to say. Maybe we’ve become used to thinking we simply know His voice or we live by what we ‘feel’ He’s saying, and yet do we zone out from the need to simply stop and listen to Him? The Lord has so much to speak into our lives, and yet, with the busyness of life, there’s a danger of becoming immune to His presence and His voice.

Like a loud train rattling our foundations and blaring its horn each day the Lord is beckoning, and drawing us to come to Him. Calling out to us in our busy, busy, busy life to simply stop and come close to Him - to not forget Him in the midst of all the choices and decisions we have to make - to simply hear what He has to say.

Prayer: Lord Jesus, I’m sorry I sometimes get busy living my life, and even in serving You, and yet I’m zoning out to the call of Your voice to come talk to You and listen to You. Thank You for not giving up on me and for always beckoning me further into Your presence. In Jesus’ name, Amen.