At the end of Pastor Luke’s first sermon in our “Make Room” advent series, he challenged us to try fasting, not only from food, but from anything in our life that is dulling and numbing our senses to God. That Sunday, I made a commitment to fast from social media by removing Facebook and Instagram from my phone. It hasn’t been perfect, but I’ve cut out a significant amount of the noise and content that typically clutter my day. 

With the world of social media at a healthy arm’s length at this moment in my life, it has been fascinating to read and reflect on Psalm 19 in preparation for the third week of Advent. As we consider God’s Word and how we can and should make it a bigger part of our everyday lives, I see with fresh eyes just how different it is from the more common words and sources of words that permeate our world.

Psalm 19 is about two primary things—creation and Scripture. Verses 1-4 say:

“The heavens declare the glory of God, and the expanse proclaims the work of his hands. Day after day they pour out speech; night after night they communicate knowledge. There is no speech; there are no words; their voice is not heard. Their message has gone out to the whole earth, and their words to the ends of the world.”

There is no speech; there are no words; their voice is not heard. But their message has gone out to the whole earth. 

When I consider the noise of our world, especially the noise of the internet and social media, is not the opposite profoundly true? There is speech, there are words, their voice is heard … but often their message goes nowhere. Their message is dead and lifeless. It has no message of eternal hope. 

In verses 7 through 11, the Psalmist describes various aspects of God’s Word and illustrates their impact on man. Here they are, briefly outlined:

• Instruction of the Lord = Perfect … renewing life.
• Testimony of the Lord = Trustworthy … giving wisdom.
• Precepts of the Lord = Right … making the heart glad.
• Command of the Lord = Radiant … lighting up the eyes.
• Fear of the Lord = Pure … enduring forever.
• Ordinances of the Lord = reliable and righteous … better than gold and honey.

Setting Google aside

Of all the voices we listen to, of all the places we seek and receive information from (whether for information, entertainment, counsel, etc.), what can possibly stand up to this list? And yet, why do we so easily reach for other voices before we come before the Lord to hear his? 

Now, I agree that it’s probably easier to ask your mom or Google about a lot of day-to-day stuff. I recently read an article about the Butterball Turkey hotline you can call from November through December for all your turkey-cooking questions. It’s been around since 1981! Perhaps if you dig deep enough in the Old Testament you might find a relevant verse about meat preparation…but that’s not my point …

The point is, do we have an appropriate and robust reverence for the voice of our Lord and the Word of God? Or are we only interested when we can cherry-pick verses like a spiritual Google? 

It’s not easy, especially when the voices of the internet and social media are more accessible, more colorful, more entertaining and flashy (read: addictive). It’s easy when we have the world’s biggest encyclopedia at the tip of our fingers. And now with AI technology we don’t even have to use our brains to skim and synthesize multiple sources of information to find what we’re looking for—it does it for us! Reverence for God’s Word is something we have to fight for and actively preserve in our daily life. It’s not going to just happen. 

It’s no coincidence to me that verse 12 brings up unintentional sins. For most Christians in 2024, what is more unintentional than putting the Word of God in second place? I know it’s true for me, at least. And yet, these unintentional sins become a mountain of large, undeniable, in-your-face sin over time.

Psalm 19:14, “May the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable to you, Lord, my rock and my Redeemer.”

Realignment

No, the Bible isn’t a Magic 8 Ball or Google. But it is the place we need to go first and foremost in all of life’s decisions. Perhaps a verse will smack you in the face with “the answer,” or perhaps it’s the simple practice of humility and obedience saying “Lord, I want to hear from you first in all things big and small.” That’s what we do when we choose to start our days off in the Word before looking at our phones or turning on the TV or listening to the radio. We’re not really looking for revelation, we’re just realigning our compass to what is true and eternal before we begin our day in a world that will put our compass to the test.

I’ll be honest. I struggle with this all the time. For me, a mom with a toddler and a baby, it’s hard to find time that isn’t easily disturbed. When I do have time that is “safe,” reading my Bible is usually third or fourth on my list of stuff I want to do. On top of that, as I have been fasting from social media this past week or so, I see now that I had been scrolling my way through moments that I could have used to turn to God.

My day runs the gamut emotionally. I find myself at times bored and lonely, sometimes overwhelmed to the point of bursting. Other times (rarer times) I am at peace and everything feels settled. In all of these moments and more I find myself reaching for my phone before I look to God. When I’m bored, I start to scroll on my phone because it’s easier than saying “Hey God, this is a quiet moment, huh?” When I’m overwhelmed, I seek distraction in my phone rather than saying “Jesus, I really need your Spirit to help me through this chaos.” When I’m enjoying a blissful moment with my kids, I reach for my phone to capture it and post it instead of saying “Lord, thank you for this gift of time with my children. They are so precious to me.” 

Can you relate?

This Advent season, the next time you find yourself reaching for your phone (or computer mouse) out of boredom, worry, anxiety, stress or even joy, I dare you to stop and go to the Word of God first. See what your Heavenly Father has for you and before you hear anything else. Be reminded of the One who made you, who holds you and who knows exactly what you need.

Image: ChatGPT