In The Silence

There is something to be said about moments of silence. When we choose to honor someone or a group of people, we may participate in a moment of silence to reflect on them and remember them. Our culture understands the sentiment and intention of revering through silence. This is not something new to our culture, it was written about many years ago in the Bible.

Psalm 65:1a

To You belongs silence (the submissive wonder of reverence which bursts forth into praise) and praise is due and fitting to You, O God, in Zion..

Oh, that hits me deep in my being. Yes, praise is singing, dancing, instruments, and shouts, but sometimes even every voice and instrument is not grand enough to express the awesomeness of the Lord. Sometimes, we just have to sit back, and wonder at the magnificence of the Lord. When we do that, eventually we will not be able to contain ourselves and praise will burst forth from the silence.

The verse above says that silence actually belongs to the Lord. No wonder the enemy would aim to distract us from that silence. No wonder the constant chatter around us aims to steal the moments of silence that the Lord could use to direct us to Him.

Psalm 52:5

My soul, wait only upon God and silently submit to Him; for my hope and expectation are from Him.

We see humility and submissiveness in silence. A teenager that talks back to her parents does not seem very submissive. A person that pops off at the person behind the counter because they don’t want to wait does not seem very humble. But the person who silently waits is showing honor and respect. God, let this be my posture in my waitings for You. Complaining and doubting only work against us. Expectantly hoping opens the door to God’s plans for our life.

In our world, it is hard to ever really have silence in your mind. We have the radio on in the car. We have kids chatting our ears off all day. We have spouses or friends contacting us throughout the day. We have the TV on for background noise. Even when we are not with someone, we make sure our thoughts are occupied. We use our cell phone to look things up, play our favorite games, or get on our favorite apps. We have trained our mind to never have to sit in silence.

With all the noise coming at us externally, how could we ever possibly hear the still small voice speaking to us from within?

Ecclesiastes 3:7

A time to tear and a time to mend. A time to keep silence and a time to speak.

We have got to give our minds a break from all the constant stimulation. We have got to stop reaching for our cell phones or remote every time we have a free minute. We need to be present in our current environment. We need to take in the sights, smells, and laughter around us. Most importantly, sometimes we need to quietly take in and reverence the very glory of God in our lives.

We need to make room for silence.

God, silence is not a boring thing. Silence is a powerful expression of my reverence, hope, and expectation in You. Please help me notice when I automatically go to stimulus and distractions to avoid silence. Please help me embrace times of silence in my life and rest securely in Your power.

#silence