In the Quiet

For God alone my soul waits in silence; from Him comes my salvation.

Psalm 62:1 (NRSVUE)

Have you noticed how loud life is now?

At the turn of the century, you were lucky to have a hundred or so channels on your television. Now, you always have the entire world of streaming available to you. You used to listen to the radio stations available in your area, or the CDs that you owned. Now, with Spotify and Apple Music, you have access to, quite literally, almost the entire recorded catalogue of human music whenever you want. We used to go to the theater to see a movie or select one of the few VHS tapes or DVDs we had. Now we can take our pick of whatever we want, whenever we want it. Not only is this the reality of media availability in our modern age, but using it as such is encouraged – whether you realize it or not.

Don’t even get me started on social media. The computer, if you were blessed enough to have one, used to have its own room in the house. And if someone was on the phone? Well, I guess you aren’t using the computer. Now we all always have an exponentially more powerful computer on our person. Just reach into your pocket, and the entire world is yours.

Are you tired? I admit that I’m tired just thinking about it. However, be encouraged that we weren’t meant to be this way, with a twisted sense of anything and everything all the time. We are told that our modern technological age is what will make us happy; how could you not be when you have the entire world at your fingertips?

Jesus asks us in Mark 8:36, “For what will if profit them to gain the whole world and forfeit their life?” The implication here is clear no matter how much we have – we gain absolutely nothing.

To the contrary, the scripture is clear in Psalm 62 that only from God comes our salvation. The flashing lights and the newfangled distractions of the world can offer us nothing despite all their noise. We are nourished by God in the silence; in our obedient stillness do we hear God’s constant refrain – that we are loved and meant for more than a life of distraction.

Christ would often seek time to be alone with God to pray and be in the presence of the Father. Mark 1:35 tells us “In the morning, while it was still very dark, He got up and went out to a deserted place, and there He prayed.” Jesus knew that this silence was necessary and essential, and He provides us with a clear example to follow.

Let us be like our savior. Let us deny the world’s glitz and glamour and sit silently with the one who can truly fulfill us. Let us flourish in the quiet, loved by God. 

Pray with me: 
 
Lord, let my prayer be simple. Meet me in the silent stillness of my obedience and reverence of you. Give me the courage to sit in the quiet.