Deafening...

Sitting here, at 5 a.m. on a Saturday morning, alone, it’s deafening. If I don’t move it envelopes me entirely. If I close my eyes and concentrate I can search out something, anything, to break it – the melodic tick-tock of the clock in the next room, the barely audible whistle of the air moving across the vent, the compressor clicking on in the refrigerator two rooms down. If I move my chair creaks, but only with effort. It’s deafening.

It’s peaceful.

Silence is a gift on a busy morning at the office. Soon the chairs will be filled with ambitious people, winners striving for their next victory. They carry their ladders around with them like beacons in the desert night announcing their successes to the world. They walk with passion and purpose, their time too precious to be squandered. And they make noise. Distracting noise that disturbs the silence.

The silence is natural. If I do nothing I can find it. It seems I have to try to disturb it, that sound, that silence.If I stop clamoring along with the masses and just sit and listen, I can find it, and it’s peaceful. It’s there all the time if I take the time to listen for it, to hear it beckoning me. If I listen intently I can even hear its message – peace, be still, rest. The silence is a reminder.

Like the silence, God is there patiently waiting for us to just be still. Joshua 1:9 tells us “Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged, for the LORD your God will be with you wherever you go.” (NIV) And Isaiah 43:2 says “When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and when you pass through the rivers, they will not sweep over you. When you walk through the fire, you will not be burned; the flames will not set you ablaze.” (NIV)

God is like the silence. He’s everywhere and he’s just waiting for us to stop – and rest – and listen.

Peace. Be still.

“For I am with you.”