Silence is Golden

“For God alone, oh my soul, wait in silence, for my hope is from Him”  (Psalm 62:5 NIV)

Everyone is so busy these days; we pack our schedules with more and more activities and things on our to-do list that there is just not enough room to spend quiet time with our own best thoughts, let alone quiet moments with God. If we would just stop for a little while and reacquaint ourselves with the person we are inside; you know…..spend some time with us! And what about making our daily quiet time with God a pleasure instead of a duty? God knows that we live busy lives and that a great deal of our time involves taking care of business, homes and relationships, but here’s the thing; when we rush through making daily quiet time with ourselves, it can also become a habit that pushes us away from Him little by little. The oh-so urgent concerns of our daily lives can wait for a little bit so that we can enjoy some time to sit, think, reflect, relax, and let our minds allow God to refresh and renew our spirit, soul, and body for the coming day!

“When I find myself racing around, trying to fill a day with mindless tasks or petty entertainment, this is usually the time that God whispers to my heart to draw away with Him and to silence my heart as He wishes to speak.” (Katherine Walden)

I love a day that is busy and filled with excitement and activity, but I have learned that my days are even better when they are balanced with quiet and peaceful times. And I can’t allow myself to just “find” the time, because by the time I have accomplished everything and communicated with everyone I set out to do, I am too exhausted to take time out for God and for myself. One thing we all have in common is the same amount of time each day, and it’s all about our view of time and life itself, and how we use the time we have. Are we really too busy to spend time with God? If our daily agendas are allowing to drive us away from seeking the Lord, then we are setting ourselves up for failure and we are closing the door and separating ourselves from the source of our strength. When we find quiet, undistracted time throughout our day to gather our thoughts, we have the opportunity to give more value and support to the things that matter most. It’s the time when we can let down our defenses and expectations, remove all the different “masks” we wear throughout the day and just be ourselves.

Whatever the case may be, when we are too busy to spend time alone with God, then we are just too busy. We need to remember the story of Mary and Martha. Martha was very busy and would have fit in beautifully in our world, but Mary chose to spend time with Jesus because she knew what would matter in the course of forever.

 

Deepest communion with God is beyond words, on the other side of silence. (Madeleine L’Engle)