Turn up the volume

I was walking down the road the other day, listening to an audiobook.
It was peaceful at first—quiet neighborhood, birds chirping, not a lot of traffic.
I didn’t need the volume very loud because I could hear just fine.

But as I got closer to the busier part of the city, everything changed.
Cars. Horns. Construction. Voices.
Suddenly, the background noise was overwhelming—and if I wanted to keep hearing the book, I had to turn up the volume.

Simple moment. But it stuck with me.

Because life works the same way.

When things are quiet, it’s easy to hear what matters.
Easy to stay grounded.
Easy to listen for God’s voice, lean into truth, remember what’s real.

But when life gets loud—
When stress hits,
When plans fall apart,
When doubts start screaming and circumstances feel chaotic—
What voice do you turn up?

It’s not a rhetorical question. You are turning something up.

Are you turning up the voice of fear?
The voice of criticism?
The inner monologue that tells you you’re not enough?

Or are you turning up the voice of truth?

Because here’s the reality... The noise isn’t going away.
But you can choose what you hear most clearly.

The Bible says:
“My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me.” —John 10:27 (ESV)

God is speaking. The question is whether I’m tuning in—or letting the noise drown Him out.

Sometimes that means stepping away from the chaos.
Sometimes it means putting truth in your ears—literally.
Scripture. Worship. A voice you trust.
Sometimes it just means recognizing, in the middle of the noise that I get to choose what I amplify.

The world will always be loud. Life will always get messy.
But when it does, I want to be the kind of person who doesn’t just let the volume rise—I want to be someone who chooses which voice gets louder.

So next time the noise shows up, ask yourself this: "What am I turning up?"