IN TOUCH WITH: The Noise of the Crowd

Betty Miller Buttram
Ink Spot Contributing Writer

Isaiah 35:4 “Encourage those who are afraid. Tell them, ‘Be strong, fear not, for your God is coming to destroy your enemies. He is coming to save you.”

A firetruck blares its warning horn letting people know that it is rushing to save lives from a burning structure so pull over to the side to make room for it to pass. A freight train sounds its whistle on the way to delivering goods, and the crossing gates come down to prevent traffic from crossing the tracks. The fire truck’s blast and the train’s whistle are familiar sounds that are heard as part of our daily lives. The noises they make are warning alerts to the people. A sports game with people cheering; a parade with people marching and cheering, a concert with people listening to their favorite singer or band; these are the feel-good crowds. The noise within these crowds poses no threat to safety because good times are being made into memories.

And then there are the churchgoing folks who are with God and their faith. They praise His name and are thankful for His blessings. They sing, they clap, and they listen to the Word and that word will sustain them while they continue to praise His name. The volume can be loud, but it is a good level of sound.

In today’s world, anxiety and fear have added a thunderous noise to the crowd. Anxiety’s main purpose is to invoke feelings of worry, nervousness, or uneasiness that is focused on an imminent event or something else that might have an uncertain outcome for a particular group of people with the same mindset. Fear is an unpleasant emotion caused by the belief that someone or something is dangerous and likely to cause pain or a threat, again, for a particular group of people with the same mindset. Together, these two emotional buddies compose a threat to our mental health and wellbeing.

At the present time, people are anxious and worried about COVID-19, the Delta Variant and the vaccines and probable booster shots; the wearing or not wearing of masks; the safety of our school children; suppression of voting rights, human rights, racism, immigration, and whatever else that will get on the noisemakers’ bandwagon. This is not to imply that these issues on the bandwagon are not important because they are, but the most prominent element is that every issue has been compromised by politics, social media, and the reporting of events on the television and radio by opinion experts. This may be the reason why some people have taken their common sense to a cliff and jumped off into the valley of stupidity. Satan is at work in that valley.

We must give our full attention to what we are viewing and hearing from the politicians and the media platforms. It is very important that people read credible newspapers and magazines and comprehend what they are reading.

This noise is a present-day intruder into our lives, and it gives Satan a playground. If we as Christians want to hear God speaking to our hearts, we can go to the Scriptures and pull away from the noise of the crowd. If we want to hear God’s voice, we need to turn down the noise volume. There are Scriptures about anxiety and fear that give Christians a quiet place to go to read, meditate, and pray: James 1:19, Psalm 94:19, Proverbs 12:25, Matthew 6:34, Psalm 34:17, 1Thessalonians 5:18, 1 Corinthians 7:32, Matthew 6: 27, Philippians 4:6, 2 Timothy 1:7, and many more.

Anxiety and fear have always been a part of our humanity. We must learn how to deal with them, or Satan will continue to believe that he has the power to break down our faith and spoil our tomorrow.