Silent Preparation
SILENT PREPARATION
by Dawn Harris
Where is God when I am consumed by silence?
I cry out for direction.
Silence.
I scream in frustration.
Silence.
I collapse in complete exhaustion.
Silence.
And yet, Peace. Strange, refreshing peace.
“What do You want from me, Lord? Why are You silent?”
“I need direction. I need to know Your will!”
Silence remains. It is deafening.
Ever been there? I have. David talks about this repeatedly in the Psalms. Why does God remain silent? I believe He is preparing us to hear. Sound crazy? Stay with me on this one.
What happens when you come out of total silence? Your hearing is fine-tuned. You notice the smallest sounds. You hear birds in the distance, clocks ticking, crickets chirping, water dripping…things you didn’t notice before. The sounds were always there, but life was louder than the sounds around you. Chaos has a way of consuming us. Stress blocks out all other senses.
We tend to let life become so crowded that we forget to take time to “Be still” and listen. REALLY listen. We crowd our schedule with good intentions. We pray to the God of the universe in hurried tidbits, but rarely take the time to sit at His feet and just “BE.”
Psalm 46 talks about the Lord’s protection and strength. God can do ANYTHING He chooses with just a whisper. In the middle of all of this, verse 10 says, “Be still, and know that I am God!” It seems to be just tucked in there…what is God saying?
God wants us to know WHO He is! He wants us to find rest and let Him show us His character. He wants us to “Be Still!” This is not an easy task. It is a discipline that requires a yielding of our will, our plans, and our time. God is requesting our time. He wants to spend time with US! This should get us excited!
Yet, most of the time we miss opportunities to spend time with God because we live life hurried and unaware.
We get angry when God is silent, yet we refuse to really listen. We should embrace the silence. It is not a punishment! It is preparation! God wants us to REALLY hear what He has to say. He wants our undivided attention. God wants our attention! That is amazing to me! God has something to say and He wants us to REALLY hear Him. If we can embrace the preparation, the end result will be so worth the wait! Look for Him. Listen for Him. The answers you are seeking are just moments away.
Don’t miss it. Yield to the silent preparation. Rest. Be still. You are about to have an encounter with the God of the universe. THAT is worth the wait! THAT is worth the silence…
on March 28th, 2007 at 5:12 pm
This is great. You are such a great writer. I anxiously await your next post
on April 3rd, 2007 at 7:43 pm
Dawn,
Thanks for sharing your insights with us. You are so right about our need to wait quietly on the Lord. I hadn’t thought about how much more we can hear after a time of silence.
Phyllis
on April 19th, 2007 at 8:43 am
Think of our deaf friends and how when they 1st got their inplants they would turn them off because the world was noisy and distracting. Meditation of our soul requires times of silence.God knows all about it :}