Friday, June 4, 2010

Silence is Golden

"We need to find God, and He cannot be found in noise and restlessness. God is the friend of silence. See how nature - trees, flowers, grass - grows in silence; see the stars, the moon, and the sun, how they move in silence... We need silence to be able to touch souls."
-Mother Teresa

In these recent weeks, I have been finding myself overwhelmed with a plethora of events and obligations that have comprised my life so far. This feeling of always being "on the go" is nothing new to me, but I am starting to feel very tired more often than not, and I am talking more in the spiritual sense. I am not complaining about being busy or having many tasks; that means there is never a boring moment. But I have to continuously examine myself from God's perspective and see if maybe He needs me to slow down and find a time to rest in His presence.

The above quote is part of what God has been speaking to me about these past few weeks in finding moments of rest and solitude where I can spend time with God without the interferences life produces. I look to Jesus to see how His life and example handled this principle and necessity. After all, it is written in Psalm 46:10 to "be still and know that I am God."

Taking a look at some of the gospel, it is hard to find a moment where Jesus is staying still or seeking solitude, especially when His ministry is taking full-form. However, Jesus made it a point to seek out His father in moments of silence and solitude. For example, when Jesus set out into the desert for forty days, He did this in solitude. It was in this solitude that Jesus was "filled with the Holy Spirit" (Luke 4:1) and was able to resist the temptations of the Devil shortly after.

Another example of Jesus taking this to heart was after He miraculously fed the five-thousand.

"After sending them home, He went up into the hills by Himself to pray." (Matthew 14:23)

He didn't just do this at the end of His day, either.

"Before daybreak the next morning, Jesus got up and went out to an isolated place to pray." (Mark 1:35)

Those are just a few examples of Jesus seeking after God in the midst of His busy lifestyle of preaching and healing the sick and poor, but these verses remind me that all of us, regardless of our roles and positions in ministry or life, need to take time and seek God in solitude.

I am reminded that silence not only serves as a conduit to hear God speak to me, but to also express adoration and worship to Him, as well. Think about it for a second. For me, some of the most powerful and breathtaking moments I experience with God are in the midst of silence. It is those moments that I find it impossible to not hit the floor and worship my Savior. When noise and distraction come into play in those moments, we tend to hesitate instead of letting ourselves go in His presence. As I made clear in my previous post Timing is Everything, once that opportunity is gone, it is gone and you probably will not get another opportunity as powerful, breathtaking, and divine as it again. This is why silence is beyond important in our lives; we cannot afford to miss divine opportunities and moments with our God, especially when He is ever so willing to meet us where we are.

I would encourage you reading this entry to start regularly taking moments in your day to get away from everyone in your life, find a place absent of noise, and meditate on God. Whether that means bringing a bible with you to study His ways or closing your eyes and quieting your mind and spirit for a brief moment, make the most of this moment you have one-on-one with your Creator. When we start looking to God in our silent moments as both a worshiper and a vessel for His glory, amazing transformation is not only a by-product of this willful act, it is a guarantee! Stop letting your life slip away in all these tasks and give God what He wishes to bestow upon us - a sound mind instilled with the spirit of peace and beauty.