“There was silence in heaven for about half an hour” (Revelation 8:1 ESV). 

Have you ever stopped to consider this verse? Take a moment. Sit in silence. What do you hear? 

No Such Thing as Silence

The refrigerator hums, the lightbulb buzzes, the dog snores, the fan whirrs. Outside the house may be even louder. Dogs bark. Planes zoom. Birds chirp. People talk. Cars motor past. Unless you’re in a soundproof booth—and even then, you likely have the sound of a laptop fan—silence is filled with noise. 

The Opposite of Silence

Two years ago, surgery left me with pulsatile tinnitus. I hear the sound of my arteries 24/7 on top of the typical high-pitched ringing. Sometimes the pulse is background noise. Most of the time, it sounds like standing on the beach. So far, no cure for tinnitus exists.

Complicating matters, my brain now processes sounds made by some machinery as music. Vibrations from the refrigerator compressor, the HVAC system, or space heaters turn to music, and not just simple melodies. I hear Pavarotti, jazz bands, and Brooklyn Tabernacle-style choirs: beautiful, but distracting. And no, I’m not crazy (at least, not because of this). Check out Musical Ear Syndrome.

Conversations can be difficult, particularly when I’m tired. I try to focus on voices through the noise and over the music in my own head. And as for sitting in silence . . . I don’t even remember what “normal” silence sounds like. Half an hour of complete silence would be heaven. Literally and figuratively. 

A Prayer for Silence

When the pounding in my ears started, I prayed for God to take it away. I talked with him about the inconvenience. Chatted to him about what I was learning. 

And the thought occurred that maybe he didn’t plan to take this away. 

Physical difficulties force me to rely on him, pay attention to him, talk to him. Maybe this is what I need to keep me focused on Jesus. Maybe this physical noise can help me hear spiritual truth. 

The Lack of Silence

Isn’t it difficult to find the silence we need to hear God over the spiritual tinnitus of this world?  The crazy thing is, we add most of the noise ourselves. 

Social media and screens are easy to blame, but we overextend ourselves, exhaust ourselves, volunteer too much (even in church), make our kids or spouse or friends the center of our universe—we distract ourselves in so many ways. 

Like physical tinnitus, spiritual tinnitus has no cure. But we can minimize the noise and return our focus to God. 

Finding Silence 

If you’re struggling to zero in on what Jesus wants you to do, try one of these suggestions.   

• Fast. Reduce or remove access to a distraction. It doesn’t necessarily need to be food.
• Limit/curate media. Eliminate media that consumes thoughts or interferes with connection to Jesus. Curate media collection to include more music, podcasts, and shows that encourage a deeper relationship with God. Check out John Dickson’s Undeceptions podcast. Love that one. 
• Intentionally take time with God. Increase exposure to God’s Word to better learn to recognize his voice.
• Find solitude. (An hour staring at the ocean is particularly effective for me; where do you talk with God best?)
• Spend time with those who have the same focus. Find a Bible-teaching church and get involved. 

If you’ve experienced spiritual tinnitus and crave silence, now’s a great time to focus on Jesus. If you try one of the suggestions, I’d love to hear about it. And if you have a recommendation to share, put it in the comments below. We’re all in this together.