Gone Silent

I apologize for the silent treatment recently. To find balance during a season, I chose to give up a few things. I haven’t written in a while because I am learning to be still and quiet before God. He is teaching me to listen more and to speak less. He is teaching me patience and contentment in the waiting. While the silence can be maddening at times, there are exceptions where I find it soothing to my soul—being still before the Maker is helping me to appreciate and notice the little things in life.

As we approach the Easter season, I was reading Mark 14 where Jesus prays in the Garden of Gethsemane. Interestingly, twice in this section, Jesus tells his disciples to watch. In verse 34, he tells his disciples “Remain here and watch,” and in verse 38 he tells Peter to “watch and pray.” I’m not surprised by his call to prayer but I am baffled by the call to watch. When someone tells me to watch, they are telling me to pay attention. I can’t pay attention if I am in a constant state of busyness. I have to turn all my attention toward them and listen. Jesus calls us to watch and pray today. We have to carve out times to be still and watch, to be still and know, and to be still and pray. The common denominator here is the call to be still.

I am still a work in progress but I am growing in this area. I hope to do some sort of silent retreat soon (maybe starting with 2 or 4 hours of solitude) in an effort to draw nearer to the heart of God. How has God used stillness in your life to deepen your walk with him? I’d love to hear about it.