How to Quiet the Noise This New Year - iBelieve Truth: A Devotional for Women - January 09, 2026
“He cuts off every branch of mine that doesn’t produce fruit, and he prunes the branches that do bear fruit so they will produce even more.” John 15:2 (NLT)
Once I became a mother, I better understood why the Grinch was so opposed to all the noise in Whoville. There’s something to be said for the mental weight paired with sensory overload. The TV is playing a kid’s show, your kitchen timer is beeping, two musical toys are sounding off at once, and someone inevitably wants to have a conversation with you amid it all.
I think that’s why I enjoy New Year’s so much - that time after Christmas, but before school and all the extracurricular activities pick up again. It’s quiet. The demands that today’s Christmas culture brings are over. Most people are too financially strained to hustle and bustle all over the place. And things in the office are slow.
Sure, the weather tends to be dark and cold, but these few precious days each year seem to tuck you inside, prompting you to spend time with your family away from life’s chaos.
This is a gift. But what are we to do when the new year gets noisy? When reality returns with a roar? As Christians, how do we adhere to our calling to love and serve others when our lives are stretched in every direction?
We recognize what is meant to bear fruit, we cultivate these fruits, and we cut away everything else.
In the Gospel of John, Jesus is quick to share that whatever isn’t producing godliness will be removed and thrown into the fire, completely consumed in the name of refinement. After all, Jesus loves us too much to watch certain pieces of our hearts and lives rot and slowly infect every other part of our being.
We mirror this behavior in gardening, pruning dead leaves and limbs so the primary roots of the plant don’t exert all their energy and resources trying to save something dead.
As this new year grows noisy and life becomes chaotic, consider the relationships, habits, and thought patterns that don’t produce life.
Is binging your favorite show every evening, for hours on end, benefiting who you are? Perhaps this is serving as a consistent distraction from your responsibilities.
Are you more prone to gossip and judgmental conversations when hanging out with that one friend? Perhaps it’s time to distance yourself.
Are you unable to put down your phone to enjoy a family dinner? Perhaps it’s time to try an electronics fast.
Is your head filled with destructive thoughts centered on fear, anger, or even worthlessness? Perhaps it’s time to memorize Scripture to counter those thoughts.
So much of life’s noise comes from unhealthy habits we won’t put to rest and unhealthy people we won’t separate ourselves from, yet we wonder why life gets so loud that it seems complicated to hear God.
Don’t let another year go by without truly examining your heart and uncovering the parts of your soul that need a good old detox. In fact, I encourage this self-reflection to supplement the typical New Year’s resolutions you might make (or at least add to).
Instead of drafting a list of goals and ideas to start on January 1st, allow yourself a few weeks for life to get back to normal. Then, take a deep spiritual inventory of where life’s noise seems to distract you from God’s calling on your life. Notice where your heart, eyes, and money gravitate when you’re pining for peace and rest. I encourage you to take physical notes, jotting down how often and how long you indulge in various activities throughout your daily life. Hence, you have a visual, unarguable record of your habits.
A deep spiritual inventory is rarely comfortable, as it’s meant to shed light on your weaknesses, but swallow your pride long enough to make the necessary changes to allow God’s voice to guide you through the hills and valleys of another year.
Let’s pray:
Jesus, as we enter a new year, allow us to savor the quiet moments and fill those times with life-giving people and activities. But when life’s fast-track pace returns, may we humble ourselves to recognize the unhealthy habits we’ve established that rob us of the peace you long to gift us. Grant us your power to change as we surrender to your pruning. Thank you for always caring for our hearts and souls, Jesus. In your heavenly name I pray, Amen.
Photo credit: ©Unsplash/Ben White
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