Day 4: Silence

The silence is deafening.
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How long has it been since you've experienced silence? How about silence where there is no television in the background, no laundry going, and the cell phone is off? How about the kind of silence where your ears ring? Let's go a step further. What about the kind of silence where even your mind is still? No frantic thoughts and questions run by, all is still.

If you are like me, it has probably been a long time. Perhaps you don't even remember a time where you were able to be still and experience real quiet. Perhaps the last time you found yourself in quiet, it was actually not very pleasant or you could not shut your mind off.

The LORD said, "Go out and stand on the mountain in the presence of the LORD, for the LORD is about to pass by." Then a great and powerful wind tore the mountains apart and shattered the rocks before the LORD, but the LORD was not in the wind. After the wind there was an earthquake, but the LORD was not in the earthquake. After the earthquake came a fire, but the LORD was not in the fire. And after the fire came a gentle whisper. When Elijah heard it, he pulled his cloak over his face and went out and stood at the mouth of the cave. Then a voice said to him, "What are you doing here, Elijah?" (1 Kings 19:11-13, NIV)

God is powerful and he reveals himself in unique and creative ways. There are certainly times when he may be in the big events: the earthquakes, the fires, and the floods. But this is not always the case. God is revealed, too, in the silence. Notice here he is in the "gentle whisper." King James calls it a "still small voice."

This goes hand in hand with yesterday's bit about prayer. It can be tough to find peace and quiet in the modern world. Even when I immerse myself in nature at a late night on the beach or on a morning hike in the woods, it seems I must truly strive for real silence. My brain starts going a million miles a minute. It takes time and patience to slow down that too and really spend time in the quiet and listen.

There is something fulfilling about actually reaching that kind of peace though. Once I finally chew through all those thoughts that I've had on the back burner for a while and I just sit back and enjoy the quiet, it is rejuvenating and refreshing. It is in those moments that I can put aside the worries and concerns I've been dealing with and simply exist.

It was no mistake that we were given a Sabbath, a day of rest. We were created to sometimes rest, to be still, and simply be with God. I want to challenge you to take some time to do so if you haven't in a while It could even be another one of those forty day challenges! Maybe I should start a list of these things? =)

See you tomorrow