During the summer months, my wife and I have had multiple fans blowing in our bedroom throughout the night. We have a ceiling fan above us, an oscillating fan near my side of the bed, and another fan next to the window on Ruthie’s side of the bed.
At least we know what it’s like to be surrounded by fans. (Sorry for the bad pun, but I couldn’t resist.)
Now that summer is past and the weather is cooling, it makes sense to stop using the fans. But we’re having. hard time doing so. The reason has less to do with temperature and more about the white noise. As one fan enthusiast points out,
white noise essentially works to mask the difference between background sounds and ‘peak’ sounds (such as an ambulance siren or a door slamming) to maintain more consistency in your environment.
According to the National Sleep Foundation, “white noise creates a constant ambient sound that reduces disturbances … that would [otherwise] be disruptive….”
This brings to mind a conversation I had with my teenage son a number of years ago. I asked him what it was like to have me as both his pastor and his parent, specifically as it concerned my teaching him God’s Word. He said, “To be honest, I have to guard against it sounding like white noise. The same voice I hear on Sunday is the same one I hear all throughout the week.”
Hearing God’s Word as white noise in that sense poses a danger in that we can become “dull of hearing” (Heb. 5:11) and spiritually “sluggish” (Heb. 6:12). That’s a condition we want to avoid because it will debilitate us, and, if left unchecked, will destroy us.
But I think that comparing God’s Word to white noise can be used positively in this sense: The constant hum of God’s holy word in our lives reduces the disruptive sounds that would otherwise disturb us.
The psalmist said, “Let me hear what God the LORD will speak, for he will speak peace to his people” (Ps. 85:8). The word of God has a comforting effect on his people. The more we listen to it, the more it soothes and stabilizes us. “Abundant peace belongs to those who love your instruction; nothing makes them stumble” (Ps. 119:165).
How easy it is for us to get rattled, anxious or unsettled by the disruptive sounds of daily life. Yet as we tune into God’s Word every day, we experience for ourselves the sweet, soul-calming truth of Isaiah 26:3: “You keep him in perfect peace whose mind is stayed on you, because he trusts in you.”