By day the LORD commands his steadfast love, and at night his song is with me, a prayer to the God of my life.

~Psalm 42:8 ESV

When a friend, a first-grade teacher, invited me to help her with some back-to-school preparation, I eagerly accepted. Before we assembled the binders for her students, she asked her teenage daughter to find music online for us to listen to. The young lady asked for suggestions. I asked for instrumental Hawaiian. She quickly accessed a site, and soon the soothing island sounds of the South Pacific wafted across the airwaves–or, in this case, the internet.

Memories flooded my mind. When I was a child, my father collected LP records and introduced us to traditional Hawaiian music. Occasionally, on a clear summer evening, he could tune the radio dial and pick up live Hawaiian music on the airwaves. We listened as it crossed the ocean to our home in northwestern Washington state.

The strains of  Lovely Hula Hands, Sweet Leilani, and Aloha ‘Oe, sung with the unmistakable accompaniment of steel guitars and ukuleles, delighted our ears and pleased our hearts. I’m far from knowledgeable about how these words and harmonies could cover the distance, but I accepted it without question.

And so, dear brothers and sisters, we can boldly enter heaven’s Most Holy Place because of the blood of Jesus. By his death, Jesus opened a new and life-giving way through the curtain into the Most Holy Place. And since we have a great High Priest who rules over God’s house, let us go right into the presence of God with sincere hearts fully trusting him. For our guilty consciences have been sprinkled with Christ’s blood to make us clean, and our bodies have been washed with pure water. 

~Hebrews 10:19-22 NLT

Often we imagine God as far away, beyond the skies. We suppose Him in a heaven immeasurably farther than the islands of Hawaii are from the mainland USA. But according to the writer of Hebrews, God is completely accessible through Jesus Christ.

We may not hear Jesus’s voice with our physical ears, but He speaks to us through the Bible. Our minds and hearts respond to these words, which helps us to live in harmony with Him.

All Scripture is inspired by God and is useful to teach us what is true and to make us realize what is wrong in our lives. It corrects us when we are wrong and teaches us to do what is right.

~2 Timothy 3:16 NLT

The melodious notes of Hawaiian music once wafted across the airwaves and pleased my ears. Similarly, God’s word places the pleasing song of redemption and connection with Him in my heart.

So let us come boldly to the throne of our gracious God. There we will receive his mercy, and we will find grace to help us when we need it most. 

~Hebrews 4:16 NLT

No scientific knowledge of airwaves or the internet is needed for a relationship with God. All we need to do is tune into Jesus Christ.

Now all of us can come to the Father through the same Holy Spirit because of what Christ has done for us. 

~Ephesians 2:18 NLT

Make it your practice to regularly see what God has to say to you in His word. 

Father God, thank You for giving me Your dependable word, like a song in the night, speaking truth and grace. Thank You for the gift of Your Son, Jesus Christ, who, through Your Holy Spirit, puts me in connection with You. Amen.

 

Genre: Non-fiction

Copyright 2026: Across the Airwaves: Anita van der Elst: All Rights Reserved.