I don’t
really know when it happened, that first day that I didn’t turn on the music or
television to keep me company while I worked alone at home. I didn’t choose the
day consciously as I would the start of a fast or mark it on a calendar as a
special day although in hind sight it was one to be noted. For this day marked
the beginning of a new habit, the habit of stillness.
Most of my
life I have awaken each morning and turned on the radio or television and let
it fill the air creating an ambience of connection with the world all
throughout my day and night. Until recently I would never have thought about
embracing silence in my life.
The noise of
something, anything, was calming. Somehow it soothed and distracted me from even my own thoughts and worries. I could become lost in a story or sing along
to the latest hit. The noise provided me with companionship. My outer world was
surrounded with sound and my inner world saturated with internal noise.
Although there were many times I would be swept away and become lost in worship. *Sigh*. There were many other times that even the worship music became a distraction for me.
As I stated
earlier I don’t know what changed about this particular day last year but for
whatever reason I didn’t turn anything on, not even my worship music. I worked
at home in silence. I drove all my errands in silence. I ate my lunch in the quiet and drank in the
still sounds of HIM.
The
quietness that in the past would evoke a feeling of isolation from the world
and cause a kind of panic suddenly brought a sense of deep peace and joy. The intimate
connection with God was so overwhelmingly wonderful that I felt connected to
the world in a much grander sense through this silence.
One day of
quietness led to another and I found myself stripping away other distractions in
my life until I found that I had developed a habit of living my days surrounded
with new levels of quietness. Not a silence that is void of any sound at all but
rather a silence from sounds that came from outside my world. From 9:00 AM
until 4:00PM apart from some focused time of praise and worship with worship music, my time was spent in silence. My heart began to quiet as both the
external and internal noise levels were lowered.
I took walks
and enjoyed just hearing the wind blow or a bird chirp and felt closer to God
in HIS creation. I heard the sounds of fresh sheets being spread over the bed,
the sound of the dog’s deep breathing as they slept and the click of each
keystroke. Everyday sounds became precious gifts from God that resounded with a
freshness that connected me to my own life.
There has
been an intense feeling during this time that God has placed me in this silence
to walk more closely with HIM. I believe this time has a much greater
importance than I even now realize so with a peaceful heart I wait on HIM for
revelation and draw near in worship.
I’ve cultivated a quiet
heart. Psalm 131:2b The Message
This verse
suggests that we have to “do” something in order to obtain a quiet heart. We
have to “cultivate” it. We have to deliberately turn off the noise around us, make
changes to our normal routines, and be patient and let it grow. Although I noticed a difference the first day
I spent with God in silence it wasn’t until I was comfortable in this new state
of being that I actually felt as though I were in communion with God.
In Matt
Redman’s book “Facedown” he writes an entire chapter about the connection
between worship and silence. This chapter is called “The Sound of Sheer Silence”.
It is in the silence that our hearts become still and our minds free themselves
to hear the voice of the Lord speak to us. It is in this silence that we have
the ability to meditate on God’s Word without distraction or influence from
other voices.
A.W.Tozer
wrote that “absolute silence might well become our greatest act of worship”.
There’s a
freedom in the silence that allows us to more fully focus our response of love
on God in ways that words and music can only taint. In silence our hearts can resonate with the
very heartbeat of God.
I was
fortunate that God put me into His silence and I am grateful. I have learned a
great deal in my time alone with the Lord. I have entered into a more constant
awareness of HIS closeness. I have learned to carry this quiet heart into other
areas of my life and even in the midst of chaos. I have learned to worship with
more than songs of worship and words of love but with the strings of my heart.
I have a great deal more to learn but I am
eager to continue cultivating this habit. The act of creating external stillness has
created an internal stillness because it has allowed me to hear my God’s voice
more clearly and feel HIS touch more intimately. And honestly, I want MORE!
Bill Hybels,
the Senior Pastor of Willow Creek Church
says that he often asks himself the following question; “Is the ambient noise level
of my life low enough for me to hear the whispers of the Lord.”
So how’s
your noise level? What can you do today to change the ambience of your life?
With Joy,
ruthann
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