Our world is loud.
Each day, a new headline demands our attention—and our allegiance.
Within minutes, we’re told how to feel, whom to blame, and which side we’re on.
Yesterday it was the death of Charlie Kirk.
Today, it’s who will perform at the Super Bowl.
Tomorrow, it will be something else entirely.
Each story carries an emotional charge.
Anger. Fear. Triumph. Grief.
Before we can breathe, the next story arrives—another outrage, another division.
And somehow, without realizing it, our emotions have been discipled by our news feed.
The Noise That Drowns the Whisper
When I saw the reactions to his death, what grieved me more than the loss of life was the loss of compassion among those who claim the name of Christ.
Some mourned.
Others celebrated.
Some idolized.
Others demonized.
And the narratives between faith leaders and political parties were so closely aligned that if you felt or responded in opposition to one side’s storyline, you were suddenly branded as not truly faithful.
The noise has become so loud—and the divide so great—that any lack of total allegiance to a narrative marks you as “the enemy.”
The emotional waves rage higher.
And the whisper of the Spirit grows harder to hear.
The Cycle of Emotional Control
Here’s what I’ve noticed:
A headline breaks.
Media outlets spin their angles.
Social feeds ignite with moral certainty.
Each camp shouts, reposts, declares their side the righteous one.
And almost no one stops to ask whether we even need to respond at all.
This, perhaps, is the most dangerous part of our formation today.
We have come to believe that every event demands our reaction.
That silence is complicity.
That disengagement is weakness.
But many of these narratives—often incomplete, distorted, or deliberately manufactured—are designed for one purpose: to capture your attention, provoke your emotion, and direct your energy.
The distraction is reaction.
It’s not that we should never engage with the world’s pain or injustice.
It’s that our engagement should be discerned—not driven by the emotional current of the moment.
Most headlines don’t need our comment.
Most controversies don’t need our outrage.
But all of them need our discernment.
The Battle Within
The real battle is not out there—it’s within.
The noise and our willingness to engage with it create the battle.
Choosing to live a Spirit-led life means learning to discern what to even engage with at all.
It means disciplining your body, mind, and spirit to act rather than react.
It’s a posture of attentiveness that asks, “Is this mine to carry?” before rushing to respond.
Then engagement with provocative issues becomes an exercise in discernment rather than an unconscious, emotionally driven reaction.
We learn to meet the world’s chaos with presence instead of panic.
Silence becomes strength, not absence.
From Emotion to Discernment
Discernment doesn’t require constant commentary.
Sometimes the holiest response is no response.
We begin by observing what arises in us:
What emotions flare when we read the headline or hear the news?
What are those feelings asking us to do—and why?
Instead of reacting, we bring that energy before God and wait.
Most often, the Spirit will show us: You don’t need to pick this up.
And when it is ours to carry—when action is truly required—it will come not as compulsion, but as conviction.
Quiet. Steady. Certain.
That’s the difference between being emotionally reactive and spiritually responsive.
The Invitation
The invitation may not be to listen more—but to listen less.
To step away from the noise until we can hear again.
To trust that the Spirit will guide us toward what truly needs our attention—and away from what only drains it.
We are not called to be experts on every issue or defenders of every cause.
We are called to be attentive to the movements of Spirit in and around us.
And sometimes that means letting the headlines pass like waves against the shore—acknowledging them, but not carried away by them.
A Spiritual Discipline for Our Time
The discipline for our age may not be more information or louder advocacy.
It may be learning to listen for the whisper by tuning out the noise.
Trust that Spirit will bring to your attention what truly matters.
Trust that you will be guided when action is needed.
Trust that silence is not neglect—it’s space for revelation.
This is the work of discernment:
To pause.
To wait.
To listen.
To trust.
For God is still speaking—just not always through the headlines.
Reflection Question:
What headlines—or emotional pulls—have shaped your focus this week?
What might happen if you simply let them pass, and waited instead for the whisper?
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