Skip to main content

The Comfort of Silence

Patiently wait for God alone, my soul! For he is the one who gives me hope. He alone is my protector and deliverer. He is my refuge; I will not be shaken.
-Psalm 62:5-6

This week has been a rough one. Between ministry responsibilities, COVID-19, parenting,  homemaking, homeschooling, and doing my own school work, by the time Thursday night rolled around, I was beside myself. I could not stop crying and I was emotionally, mentally, and spiritually spent. I sent a message to my instructors and told them that all my work for the week would be late--school was really the only area that had any give--I could survive if I didn't get the highest grade, but I was not going to last much longer if I did not take a break. Fortunately, my instructors understood and Friday I was able to refocus and rest. 

But, in reality, I never should have let myself get to that point of exhaustion. "He alone is my protector and deliverer. He is my refuge; I will not be shaken." But I was shaken. Why? Quite simply because I was not waiting on him--I was not seeking him with all my heart as I am supposed to. Instead, I was pouring myself out to everything around me and wound up completely empty--spent--done. It was actually to the point that after I messaged my instructors, I went to bed and fell right to sleep--but I woke up with swollen, red, and puffy eyes. I had cried the whole night as I slept. I had worn myself out to the point that even in rest, I was unable to rest. 

So, Friday I spent the day in renewal.
I spent more time than normal in God's word. I spent more time than normal in the silence--just waiting for him to speak. I spent time silently feasting on the love of God--and it was in that silence that comfort came. 

***

When trials come, like the one we are currently dealing with--a global pandemic that has shut everything down--we try to distract ourselves. We fill our lives with tasks--both worthy and unworthy--but we avoid the silence and solitude. Why do we do this? Why do we try to distract ourselves from the opportunity to be comforted in silence with God? 

I have seen before and after pictures of homes during this pandemic--people have been remodeling their homes, their gardens, their wardrobes. Crafting has become a popular activity. People who wouldn't be caught dead doing outdoor activities have taken up hiking and fishing as though it was their favorite hobby--just to pass the time. But maybe, perhaps, we are not supposed to "just pass the time." Maybe, just maybe, God is desiring for us to take this forced time of solitude and enjoy the silence with him. To meditate upon his word and to refocus our lives on him.

Maybe instead of filling our lives with unnecessary past-times that will ultimately be left behind after everything reopens, we should be taking this opportunity to take part in a personal revival--a renewal of our relationship with God. A chance for us to learn his voice once again--because it won't be long before our lives become noisy again--and we need to re-learn how to hear his voice in the midst of the chaos of life.

So, I am saying this as much to myself as I am to everyone reading. Take this opportunity to find renewal in your relationship with God. Take comfort in the silence--because God is there just waiting for you to sit still long enough to be with him. 
Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Why We Won't "Go Home" -- An Open Letter To John MacArthur

Dear John,

My social media newsfeed has been blowing up in light of your recent statement about Beth Moore. You mocked Beth Moore (and other women leaders) by telling her to "Go home." Well, sir, we will not.

You see, John, when a person is called--whether man or woman--to speak God's word, they become unable to stay silent. Jeremiah 20:9 states:

But if I say, “I will not mention his word
or speak anymore in his name,”
his word is in my heart like a fire,
a fire shut up in my bones.
I am weary of holding it in;
indeed, I cannot.
John, Beth Moore cannot go home any more than you can. Why? Because God has called her. He has taken her by the hand and led her into the purpose he created her for. She must speak! And as a minister of the Freeing Gospel of Christ, you should be affirming her and not tearing her down. 
"Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs, that it may benefit those who lis…
Post a Comment
Read more

The *Real* Proverbs 31 Woman

I remember shortly after my oldest daughter turned 6 months old, I began looking for a job to help make ends meet at home. My husband was working overtime hours and as soon as he would clock-out, we would head to the neighboring town and work at the church until late into the night, so I decided it was time to contribute.

That was when the opinions came in.
That was when the pastor told us his views.
A woman’s place is in the home.
Referencing Proverbs 31, the pastor of our church at the time made his opinion of me working outside the home very clear.
In his mind, I was sinning.
And, actually, this is a very common view within the general Church today. The man needs to be the bread-winner, the spiritual leader, the head of the household. That is how I had always grown up.
Several years after struggling with needing to find a job, I was in a similar situation. Only this time Jason was the associate pastor at another church, and due to his secular job being shady in their dealings, h…
1 comment
Read more

The Good Fight

My husband was recently contacted by a fellow pastor on a popular networking site. This pastor told my husband that he believed that the KJV Bible was the only Bible that was able to be used by God and that if my husband did not agree, he was wrong, and was a heretic.
A friend of mine who is a co-pastor with her husband, was approached by a woman on Facebook who told her that it is against the word of God for a woman to be a pastor to anyone other than women or children (never mind the various women that God used to minister to men throughout the Bible). This woman cited two verses which she felt made her point but ignored the cultural context of those verses and said that any woman who preaches goes against God.
Another situation occurred when a pastor’s wife with whom I am acquainted reached out because she is dealing with Postpartum Depression. Rather than sharing love, another pastor’s wife told her that depression is “all in your head”. That it’s not real and a "good Christian…
1 comment
Read more