“There are times when solitude is better
than society, and silence is wiser than speech. We should be better Christians
if we were more alone, waiting upon God, and gathering through meditation on
His Word spiritual strength for labor in His service.
― Charles H. Spurgeon
Noise is a part of our everyday life. It seems we get so used to it we don’t even
realize it is there until it is not and there is absolute silence. When that happens, we sit back and take a
breath enjoying that brief moment.
The last few weeks I have discovered something about myself
that I didn’t realize before coming here.
In my American life, I would fill my days with noise and busy activities
and would use these things to find security. When I would be surrounded by people and
running around busy with many tasks, I
would feel loved, secure, and a sense of purpose. Then after the many projects would be done
and life would become quiet, it would be sort of like a crash. And because the things that made me feel
loved and secure were over, I would then
feel unloved and so insecure that it would almost hurt. I would anxiously await and beg for my next
“fix” so that those bad feelings would be gone, but they would only be gone
until that busyness was over and then the cycle would start all over again.
On Valentine’s Day this year, friends from home sent me the
most thoughtful Valentine’s Day care package.
There were so many wonderful things inside that box that were wrapped in
beautiful pink and red wrappings and tied with silver ribbon. One of the things that I received was a long
piece of yarn with hearts tied across it.
Each heart had a promise from God along with the Bible reference. As I opened up that gift, tears filled my
eyes. As I stood in the quiet living
room reading each promise that was written on the hearts, that lesson that the
Lord has been trying to teach me for so long finally began to penetrate deep
into my heart. My value is not in the
things that I do. It’s fine to be busy,
but it’s also important to stop and enjoy the quiet and simply rest in the
presence of the Lord.
The next 3 weeks after receiving my care package, the
message of how important it is to rest and simply sit at the feet of my Savior was
coming from so many directions. I am
learning to enjoy the quiet because I am realizing that when you are in the
quiet mode, that is when you hear the voice of God and you can enjoy His
presence. It is there when He begins to
transform your thoughts, your heart and prepares you for the tasks that you are
going to do. You also begin to trust
Him more and more which leads to a more intimate relationship with the God of
the universe, and really there is nothing more precious than that relationship
and that intimacy.
Again this morning this was confirmed to me as I read my
devotion for today: “In a world characterized by working and taking, the
admonition to rest and receive seems too easy.
There is an intricate connection between receiving and believing. As you trust in Jesus more and more, you are
able to receive Him and the blessings abundantly.”
Be still and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the
nations, I will be exalted in the earth.
Psalm 46:10.
