There was a natural symphony early this morning as I sat on our back porch. At least 12 different types of birds were chirping in the woods (I lost count after 12). However, soon after sitting down, the concert was interrupted by a familiar dog barking at a nearby house. Of course, it was the irritating “yappy dog” that barks regularly, and I thought, “Isn’t this just like life. Just when you start to enjoy the harmony of sounds around you, along comes the one that makes you cringe.” I’ve actually written about the subject before and you probably have a “yappy dog” in your life too, but the reason I’m writing this post is because of what happened next.

You see, as I pondered the whole nuisance dog thing, a whip-poor-will called from the distance. It was a soft sound of reason penetrating the chaos, and a new thought came to me, “The voice of God is like that.” We sometimes get focused on the noise (even contributing to it), and all the while, the still small voice of God is calling for us to hear. Amazingly, there was still one more bird to make its presence known…a dove. Yep, believe it or not, right in the middle of the “pondering” a dove landed in our yard and this verse came to mind:

“Peace I leave with you. My peace I give to you; not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid.” – John 14:27 NKJV

• God’s peaceful presence is real. Jesus was talking about the Holy Spirit’s coming when He made that statement. May we find serenity in Him.
• The still small Voice still speaks. May we tune-out the “yappy dogs”, tune-in to Him, and find guidance through the chaos this week!