‘His only daughter, who was about twelve years old, was dying. As Jesus went with him, he was surrounded by the crowds. A woman in the crowd had suffered for twelve years with constant bleeding, and she could find no cure. Coming up behind Jesus, she touched the fringe of his robe. Immediately, the bleeding stopped. “Who touched me?” Jesus asked. Everyone denied it, and Peter said, “Master, this whole crowd is pressing up against you.” But Jesus said, “Someone deliberately touched me, for I felt healing power go out from me.” When the woman realized that she could not stay hidden, she began to tremble and fell to her knees in front of him. The whole crowd heard her explain why she had touched him and that she had been immediately healed. “Daughter,” he said to her, “your faith has made you well. Go in peace.”’ Luke 8:42-48 (NLT)
I’m a big fan of white noise machines. Heavy pouring rain and blowing wind help me sleep. White noise machines are great because they block out other noises—especially the noises made by my five kids. Most of us use some form of metaphoric white noise to deal with the distractions in our lives. This white noise in our lives is constant, imperceptible, and masking something. In other words, it’s hiding negative emotions we don’t want to deal with.
The true danger of living in a world of distractions isn’t the distractions. It’s the things we use to drown out those distractions. Masking that negative stuff can help us succeed in the eyes of the world, but it can also keep us from knowing who we are.
You have control over that white noise machine. Your hand is on the volume knob and that knob is self-awareness. It helps us recognize when our stress levels are reaching a point where we’re tempted to turn up the white noise in order to distract ourselves, in order to escape our negative emotions.
In Luke 8:42–48, a desperately sick woman pushes through a crowd gathered around Jesus so she can touch the hem of his robe and be healed. Jesus knew what happened and he called her out: “Someone touched me, for I perceive that power has gone out from me.” Realizing she wasn’t going to be able to hide, she admitted what she’d done, and this is how Jesus responded to her: “Daughter, your faith has healed you. Go in peace.”
It seems silly to us that she’d hide from Jesus, but imagine the emotions she must have experienced: doubt, fear, embarrassment, and probably the belief that she wasn’t as worthy of his attention as everyone else in the crowd. She was controlled by white noise until Jesus reminded her who she was: daughter.
What are the things that make you feel overwhelmed, afraid, depressed, or discouraged? What habits have you developed to deal with those negative emotions? What can you do to take control of the volume on that white noise so you can control your emotions instead of allowing them to control you?
from How to Lead in a World of Distraction