Noisy World, Quiet Heart

Ping! You receive a “breaking news” notification. Another school shooting. Sighing, you open your phone and read the story. Tears fill your eyes as you learn about the victims of such a senseless crime. 

Ping! Another notification. A friend just texted you asking what time you’d like to meet for dinner. You begin your response. 

Ping! Instagram this time. A new post from your favorite follower. You quickly push send on your text and open the app. You look at the post, give it a “heart,” and then begin scrolling. You see updates from friends, take note of a new product that you want to put on your wishlist, see a few posts about that school shooting. This time a politician said something insensitive about the situation. You feel anger rising inside. 

Ping! An email. Your son’s teacher is letting you know that your son forgot his homework for the third time this week. Can you and your husband come for a meeting please? Frustration wells as you turn off your phone and slam it down on your desk. 

Ping! 

Sound familiar?

It can be hard to have a moment’s peace amidst the noise of the world. Constantly bombarded with notifications, updates, emails, texts, podcasts, and videos, we often allow all the “noise” to take over our thoughts and hearts. As a result, we’re anxious, sleep-deprived, nervous, and sinfully angry. 

God is not the author of noisome, disquieted hearts. He is the God of peace (Rom. 15:33) and promises “abundant peace” to lovers of His Word (Psalm 119:165). This means we can have quiet hearts amidst the noise of the world. Here are a few ideas on how to do that. 

1. Eliminate Unnecessary Noise

On June 29, 2007, the world changed forever. No country was invaded that day. No war ended. No president inaugurated. No natural disaster struck. The monumental event that shifted our existence was the release of the first iPhone. Competitors’ models were soon to follow. 

In the past eighteen years, we’ve pretty much all jumped on the smartphone bandwagon. According to one source, there are now 4.88 billion smartphone users worldwide.¹ The result? We’ve deified the rectangle in our pockets and become slavishly devoted to its every notification. 

My friend, if you’re feeling particularly overwhelmed by the noise of the world, consider eliminating the unnecessary noise coming your way via your smartphone (or tablet). Maybe it’s time to delete your social media apps. If you don’t want to lose touch altogether, try accessing your profile only on your personal computer. 

Another idea is to limit your push notifications. Do you really need to be updated on every sale item at Target? Do you need to hear about every hurricane affecting the other side of the globe? Do you need to be alerted for every spam message that enters your inbox? Take intentional steps to eliminate unnecessary noise. 

But that’s not going to be enough.

2. Replace What You Eliminate

While I believe in sounding the warning about the dangers of the overuse of smartphones, I do not believe that they are solely the cause of our problem. When we believe the lie that our problem is outside of us, we’ll start to believe that the solution is inside of us. 

But that line of thinking is upside-down. The problem is that our hearts are already noisy. It’s made worse when we open ourselves up to the noise outside us. Eliminating the noise can help, but ultimately we need a change inside. 

This change comes from God’s Word: 

Abundant peace belongs to those 
who love your instruction; 
nothing makes them stumble. (Psalm 119:165)

Do you want abundant peace? Turn off your phone and get in the Word. Replace scrolling time with time in the inspired Word of God that can slice through your mask right to the thoughts and motivations of your heart (Heb. 4:12). 

And may I suggest that you get into a physical copy of God’s Word. While Bible apps are a blessing, they also open us back up to distraction. Leave your phone in the other room for a while, and crack open a hard copy of Scripture. 

3. Pray and Praise

Though I am sometimes tempted to try it, we really cannot live in isolation, completely cut off from the world. For most of us, smartphones are so ingrained in our lives that we can’t get rid of them altogether. We need to be informed about the news of the day. But we don’t have to bear the burden alone. 

If your heart is feeling particularly noisy today, take the cares weighing you down to the throne of grace. We have full permission to cast our every care on the God of peace because He cares for us (1 Pet. 5:7). The psalmist states it even more strongly: 

Cast your burden on the LORD, 
and he will sustain you; 
he will never allow the righteous to be shaken. (Psalm 55:22)

We must be willing to admit that we can’t handle all the noise. But the sovereign Lord of Lords can. Cast your burden on Him. 

And then turn your prayer to praise. Take time to list as many things as you can for which you can praise God. If you’re at a loss, open your Bible to Psalm 103 and allow your soul to “bless the LORD.” 

4. Take Time to Be Quiet

Instead of putting in your earbuds at every opportunity or turning on your car radio, embrace the quiet. Fight the metaphorical noise of the world with literal quiet. This may just help you accomplish a few other things in this list. 

5. Hide the Word in Your Heart

Spending time in the Word is great—necessary, imperative, irreplaceable. But sometimes we need the Word to abide in us (John 15:7). Make it a practice to hide God’s Word in your heart (Psalm 119:11). 

Is it slow? Yes, sometimes painstakingly so. Is it difficult? More often than not. But is it worth the effort? Indubitably. Devote yourself to this practice, and you will find the noise of the world growing fainter. 

6. Journal

Another “quiet” practice to try is writing down the noise of your heart. Allow it to come out through your pen or keyboard. Write your prayers. Write what you’ve learned in your time in the Word. Keep track of answers to prayer. Write your questions, concerns, doubts, or anxieties. This cathartic exercise can help quiet take up residence in your heart. 

7. Get Outside and Go for a Walk 

It’s a practical and totally earth-bound suggestion, but sometimes the noise of the world feels a lot less noisy when we’re in God’s creation. Leave your phone or earbuds at home and just go for a walk. Use the time to pray, review your memory verses, or just express gratitude to God for the beauty of His creation. 

8. Sing

Being anxious while singing to the Lord is about as easy as kissing your elbow. It just can’t happen. This may sound crazy, but try singing your favorite hymn out loud. If you can’t quite bring yourself to do that, queue it up on your speakers and sing along with your favorite artist. 

9. Read a Book

Seriously. Pick up a book that will edify your heart. Maybe a book on spiritual growth or a well-loved novel. Reading is a gift often spurned by our bite-size, YouTube-shorts culture. But you might be surprised at how rediscovering this discipline can help quiet your heart. 

10. Find a Quiet-Hearted Mentor

Much could be said about the value of mentorship. But as I draw this post to a close, consider finding an “older” woman in the faith who exhibits a quiet heart. Take her out to coffee and ask how she anchors her soul in seasons of turbulence. Her answers may not surprise you, but the time you spend with her will undoubtedly do wonders for your own soul. 

We can’t get rid of all the noise in our society, but we can “cease striving” and enjoy the “peace that surpasses all understanding” (Psalm 46:10; Phil. 4:7). Where will you start today? 

Now may the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you believe so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit. (Romans 15:13)

¹ Suni Gill, “How Many People Own Smartphones in the World? (2024–2029),” Priori Data, January 1, 2025, https://prioridata.com/data/smartphone-stats/.