Martha Olawale

“And I heard a sound from heaven like the roar of rushing waters and like a loud peal of thunder. The sound I heard was like that of harpists playing their harps.” Revelation 14:2

My Dad loved country music and often listened to Jimmy Reeves, Kenny Rogers, and other Country legends. Although it’s been decades since I was a child in my parents’ home, if I hear Jimmy Reeves’s voice singing on the radio, it will send my heart pumping faster, transporting me back to my childhood. It is not Jimmy’s voice that captivates my memory; it’s the sound of home that pulls me back to the confines of the walls where I once found refuge and unwavering love.

I am not one to be insensitive to the pain that the sound of a home might bring to some people because while hearing an old country song can warm my heart, it wasn’t cozy all the time in my childhood home. One such difficult season was Mum’s periodic sickness, creating moments when my little heart didn’t know what to do with the anxiety that came with that. However, that was still home, and just the memory of my younger, stronger Dad, sitting on his chair listening to his records, gives me great comfort.

Talking about her parents, my friend recently told me, “I miss being a child in their home.” I could almost touch the beauty of her experience as she spoke, and it warmed my heart. Something about living there till today still gives her strength to hope and fight for that experience for her children, too.

As Christians, when we keep our eyes on Heaven, we experience the joy and peace of home despite the draining noise in our world. With that same consciousness, we get accustomed to the voice of Christ to guide us through life. In the uproar, His voice will keep us calm, and when the noise in your head wants to drown you, His voice will keep you afloat. The sound of Heaven is a sound of peace, and it mutes all anxiety knocking on our heart's doors. Psalm 85:8 says, “I will listen to what God the Lord says; he promises peace to his people, his faithful servants.”

When I close my eyes in worship, I hear the sound of Heaven. It’s from beyond a billion galaxies far away, yet it echoes so close to my soul. While it sizzles through the gushing of the winds and roar of the mighty waters, it sounds sweeter than anything on earth, cutting through every inch of my existence to give my weary heart rest. John describes what he heard in Revelations 14:2 as “The rushing of waters and a loud peal of thunder.” The sound of home, beyond the melody of the host of Heaven, is the voice of my Father. I can’t see but hear Him as He calls me out of the murky wells life throws me in, and He surrounds me with peace in the face of adversity.