Tag Archives: silence

Spiritual Growth

In Defense of Silence

 

Silence has to be a part of our relationship with our Savior. In Habakkuk 3:19 we read, “Let all the earth keep silence before Him.” Trappist Thomas Merton wrote, “A man who loves God necessarily loves silence.”  Jesus had his favorite places to go alone; the garden of Gethsemane was one. He needed to get away from the crowds and followers. He needed the time alone in silence with the Father. Job said, “Stand still and consider the wondrous works of God.“

Silence is difficult for many of us. We kill the silence with words. We need to spend time in silence. It is hard to feel the closeness of Jesus without silence. The greatest tribute we can pay to anyone “…is a moment of silence.”  We need many of those moments with God.

Build into each day periods of silence. This might be in the family room or office before the family rises in the morning. Perhaps give yourself extra time before a plane departure and slip into the chapel available in most major airports. Public libraries can be a place to embrace silence. Some cathedrals and church sanctuaries are open for prayer and meditation.

Let God speak to you as you sit in silence. I find that ideas, names of people, and issues sometimes enter my mind in times of silence. I often sit in our solarium in the early morning darkness or out on our deck in warm weather. People and ideas just seem to “float” into my consciousness; I try to respond by contacting that person or giving attention to an issue that I have forgotten about. Without the silence, I cannot bring these thoughts to the forefront of my mind.

Develop leisure time activities that involve silence. Walking the streets of our city before rush hour traffic and before children are walking to school is such a time for me. Place a bird feeder near a window in your kitchen and observe the birds as they come for food. Just clearing your mind for the activities of the day can give you peace and comfort.

You need silence for prayer time. Perhaps a reason David was described as a man after God’s own heart—in spite of his sins—is because as a shepherd he had much silent time to commune with God. Even Jesus, the perfect human, still needed quiet time to pray to the father.

Herman Melville wrote, “All profound things and emotions of things are preceded and attended to by silence.” That includes our time with the Master each day.

According to Plutarch, writing in 4 B.C., Herod Archelaus, a well-known politician and tetrarch of Judea, sat down in the chair of his local barbershop. “How would you like your hair trimmed?” asked the chattering barber. Archelaus responded, “In silence.”

Devotional

Silent Shadows

Few things have more impact with less noise than a shadow. The shadow of a tree or a building can give relief from the heat and respite from a crowd. The same is true of the shadow of the life of someone important to us. For example, in Acts 5:15 many of the people of Jerusalem carried the sick out into the street “…that at least Peter’s shadow might fall upon some of them as he passed by.”  And the same is true of our shadows on the lives of others. They fall noiselessly and like many other great marvels are cast silently.

Nature is silent. The sun rises in the morning with all of its radiance and beauty in the East—silently. The sun descends in the West—silently. The seasons come and the seasons go quietly. We are blessed with the wonders of the springtime when we observe the crocuses, the daffodils, and the dogwoods.  With Wordsworth, we can say, “Then my heart with rapture fills and dances with the daffodils.” Yet the springtime comes silently, and in the fall of the year the leaves turn colors and fall to the ground—silently. As David wrote in Psalm 19:3, “They have no speech, they use no words;
 no sound is heard from them.”

When Peter walked down the street doing good, he may not have known that his shadow was falling silently behind . Our greatest work and most effective ministries are often done silently. Our shadows are forever with us, as are the shadows of others on us.

Our shadows are dependent upon our relationship with Jesus Christ who is the light of the world. We know that if we walk toward the sun, our shadows fall behind us. If we walk toward Jesus who is the light of the world, then inevitably his shadow falls behind us.

Don’t forget that your shadow is falling on the lives of people you come in contact with; even though we don’t hear them, our shadows of influence have great impact.