Where There’s Blayze

Advent is here, the season of waiting, preparation, and anticipation. But let’s be honest: for many of us, it feels more like a season of chaos. Shopping lists, social events, decorations, and a playlist of endless Christmas songs can leave us frazzled and distracted.

I’ve always thought half the battle for the church is just showing up. That’s why I started a “tough questions” group at a local pub, a way to be present in the noise of everyday life. Initially, it was met with raised eyebrows and murmurs. But one evening, something remarkable happened.

A Conversation in the Chaos

Walking into the pub wearing my dog collar, I heard laughter from the back. “I think he’s in the wrong pub!” someone said loudly, as if daring me to respond.

Perfect.

I grabbed my drink, turned to the voice, and said, “No, I’m definitely in the right place.” What followed was a spirited debate with the man who made the comment. He dismissed Christianity as brainwashing, said religion was for controlling people, and claimed that belief in Jesus was no better than Chinese whispers.

It could have ended there, but it didn’t. I calmly offered some counterpoints—about the historical evidence for Jesus, the reliability of ancient manuscripts, and the unshakable faith of early Christians who died for their beliefs rather than deny the resurrection they claimed to have witnessed.

Gradually, the conversation shifted. The man softened, sharing how his mother’s prayers once brought a sense of peace and mystery to his life. He admitted that losing his faith had left a void. By the end of the night, he walked away with a Bible and a handshake, while a young woman nearby asked me how to understand Scripture.

What began in noise and skepticism ended in something deeply quiet, almost holy.

Advent: A Time to Listen

That pub experience reminds me of Elijah in 1 Kings 19. Poor Elijah had been through the wringer. Fleeing for his life, desperate for clarity, he found himself on a mountaintop waiting for God.

First came a powerful wind, so fierce it tore apart rocks. But God wasn’t in the wind. Then an earthquake shook the ground beneath his feet. Surely God would be in that! But no. Next came a blazing fire, commanding awe and attention. Yet still, no God.

Finally, after all the noise, there was…a whisper.

God spoke to Elijah not through the dramatic or the overwhelming, but through stillness. Elijah had to hush the noise around him, and within him, to hear that whisper (1 Kings 19:11-12).

Advent invites us to do the same. In Luke 21, Jesus warns us not to let “the anxieties of life” weigh us down or distract us from His return. He says:

“Be careful, or your hearts will be weighed down…Be always on the watch, and pray” (Luke 21:34-36).

Amid the busyness of the season, we’re called to pause, to watch, to pray. Advent is a time to prepare for Jesus—not just by decking the halls or ticking off to-do lists, but by quieting our hearts to hear His voice.

The Whisper of Hope

In the chaos of December, how can we make space for the whisper of God?

• Start small: Take five minutes a day to sit quietly, read a verse from Scripture, and pray.

• Mark the weeks: Light an Advent candle each Sunday and reflect on its meaning—hope, peace, joy, and love.

• Reclaim waiting: Turn mundane moments (like waiting in a queue) into opportunities for silent prayer or gratitude.

A Quiet Transformation

That noisy pub night reminded me how God often works in whispers. The loud debates eventually gave way to quiet moments of reflection. A man softened his heart. A woman sought understanding. God moved, not in the wind, earthquake, or fire of the pub’s initial clamour, but in the still, small moments that followed.

This Advent, let’s hush the noise. Let’s resist the temptation to rush through the season and instead linger in its quiet beauty. In the stillness, we may just hear God’s voice.

The whisper of hope is waiting. Will you listen?