Back in the good old days before digital devices and streaming platforms, we listened to our music on something called a transistor radio. It fit in your hand and came with one ear piece. They had an antenna you pulled out to get reception. These radios were made by companies like Zenith, GE, Lloyds, Sony and others. The cool kids kept theirs in a leather case with a hand strap and holes to allow the music to flow from the speakers.

In order to listen to your favorite station you had to know their frequency and tune into it manually by turning the small dial on the side of the radio. I recall the dials having grooves on the edge. I would slip my finger nail into the groove for more precise tuning. You needed to be exactly on the station for it to come through. If you were off by a click, the music would be fuzzy. Two clicks and you’d get static. At three clicks you would lose the station completely. And as you moved around town you constantly had to retune to the station due to the variance in air frequencies based on different locations. The kids today just don’t know the struggle!

It occurred to me that I can be that way with God at times. I genuinely desire to hear God’s voice and be in his will, but sometimes my tuner is a little off. There are things that must be done to stay tuned in. If I don’t have a daily routine of time in the Word, I can get off by a click, and God’s voice gets a little fuzzy. If I go days without spending any real time alone with God in prayer, I get the static of being two clicks off. When trials and difficulties come along that I don’t understand, and I rebel or hide in my corner like a small child, I get so far out of tune that I lose Gods voice completely.

Every day in the life of a believer, there are unseen but very real forces whose sole purpose is to screw with our spiritual tuners one click at a time until we lose all frequency to God. Subtle things like a bad day at work, a fight with your spouse, a health issue, that one drink too many, even unanswered prayers, can cause us to tune out God’s voice at the very time we need to hear it the most, and all we end up hearing is static, white noise. Through the work of the Holy Spirit in us, we can recognize the static of becoming out of tune and make the adjustments necessary so that we never lose the ability to stay precisely tuned into His voice and plan for our lives. You could only be a few clicks away from missing out on something great!