Whatever Happened to Stillness and Silence?

By Knofel Staton

I suspect most of us have seen it””that cell phone TV commercial in which a person moves from place to place and from behind one obstacle to another and asks, “Can you hear me now?”

In the midst of our “rushaholic,” “goaholic,” “shopaholic,” “spendaholic,” “activityaholic,” and “workaholic” world I wonder if God ever asks, “Can you hear me now?”

With all of the activities and our compulsion to pursue them are all kinds of noise””sounds of voices, sirens, trains, planes, storms, machinery, bells, television, radio, winds, animals. We choose entertainment that associates us with sounds of explosions, yells, screams, gunshots, crashes, and earsplitting music.

Afraid to Be Still?

Busyness and noise have become so much a part of our lives that many are uncomfortable with periods of stillness. Just notice the uneasiness when television goes silent for 15 seconds or a conversation stops for a minute.

Even worship leaders eliminate silence, calling it “dead time” that interrupts the scheduled emotional flow. Many of us come out of a world saturated with noise into a worship service saturated with sounds. I have attended worship services during which silence is driven out of every second. Even the Lord”s Supper time is filled with sounds from a soloist, a band playing, or announcements. Communion is a time for thinking, contemplating, meditating, remembering, and committing. All are difficult when people are distracted with planned noise. I wonder if during Communion God ever asks, “Can you hear me now?”

Medical science discovered that continuous activities and noise replace the harmonious integration of the inner self with harmful interruptions. Inner peace gives way to inner perplexity; clarity surrenders to confusion; and inner serenity bows to inner stress, all of which weaken the immune system. It is possible that we have so much going on around us and inside of us that we are not able to hear God asking, “Can you hear me now?”

As a young Airman in the Air Force 53 years ago, I read something I have not forgotten. Some hunters in Africa were traveling by foot through jungles and mountains when they noticed the natives, who were carrying their gear, were not following. One hunter went back to find them sitting and praying. He confronted them with, “We did not give you permission to stop.” One of the natives replied, “Sir, we are not disrespecting you; we just need to take time for our spirits to catch up with our bodies.”

Sensing His Presence

Didn”t Jesus do the same when he got away from activities and noise to enjoy some stillness and silence with his Father? Didn”t he suggest the same to his followers, “Come a part, lest you come apart.” That”s my paraphrase of “Come with me by yourselves to a quiet place and get some rest” (Mark 6:31). Didn”t the psalmist remind us that our divine Shepherd wants to lead us beside “quiet waters” (23:2)?

Every culture through the centuries has had its “aholics” with the accompanying rush of its own unique activities and noises. No wonder from ancient times God revealed the need for stillness and silence:

“The Lord will fight for you while you keep silent” (Exodus 14:14, New American Standard Bible).

“Stand still and see this great thing the Lord is about to do before your eyes” (1 Samuel 12:16).

“Be still, and know that I am God” (Psalm 46:10).

“But the Lord is in his holy temple; let all the earth be silent before him” (Habakkuk 2:20).

“Be still before the Lord, all mankind, because he has roused himself from his holy dwelling” (Zechariah 2:13).

Eliminating activities and noise is an essential way to remove the clutter and hush the rush so we can focus, rest, and relax. Then we”ll be prepared, from within our inner selves, to sense the divine presence and to speak to the storms raging inside of us.

Just as Jesus spoke to the storm raging around his disciples, he can calm the raging torrents in our spirit (Mark 4:39).

Benefits of Balance

Silencing the noise and ceasing from many activities lead to balance, and balance brings many benefits, such as the following:

“¢ Provides focus to fix the eyes of the heart on Jesus (Hebrews 12:2), and on the wonders of what God has done and is doing (Psalm 119:27).

“¢ Strengthens the inner self. “In quietness and trust is your strength” (Isaiah 30:15). Do we allow God to lead us beside quiet waters (Psalm 23:2)? If yes, do we remain there long enough to benefit from its calmness? Do we value the serenity of stillness?

Peter wrote about the “unfading beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is of great worth in God”s sight” (1 Peter 3:4). Is it in our sight? Is it the sight of worship planners and leaders?

“¢ Alerts the ears of the heart to discover God”s thoughts communicating with our thoughts (1 Kings 19:11, 12).

“¢ Relaxes the soul. The psalmist put it this way, “My soul waits in silence” (62:1, New American Standard Bible) and “Be at rest once more, O my soul” (116:7). Isaiah described resting with God as a glorious experience (11:10). But how often do we plan to enjoy that expression of glory? Isn”t it interesting that one of John”s early descriptions of Heaven included not only activities and the sounds of singing, praying, praising, and playing instruments, but also the stillness of silence (Revelation 8:1)? Jesus invites us to enter into the relational intimacy of rest with him:

Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light (Matthew 11:28-30).

By the way, the word easy meant “will fitted.”

“¢ Enhances patience. “Be still before the Lord and wait patiently for him . . .” (Psalm 37:7).

“¢ Opens the mind for meditation. Our spiritual ancestors emphasized meditation and practiced it, for they knew our thoughts shape as well as express our hearts (Proverbs 23:7; 4:23). Positive meditation chases away interior perplexities and gives way to inner peace (Philippians 4:8-10).

If we want to be known as people of the Word, we should consider Psalm 119. It reveals more about God”s Word than any other chapter in the Bible and makes clear that we are not just to read and hear God”s Word, but also to meditate upon it””to muse, contemplate, visualize, focus, gaze upon, think deeply about, and be devoted to the Word”s content. This is how we incorporate God”s ways (5, 15), his desires (23), his wonders (27), and his promises (48) into our lives.

But do we even know how to meditate? Do we fill our ears with surround-sound television and music blaring from boom boxes, and portable CD players? Do we fill our hours with near-endless activities that tempt us to crowd God out of our days? Do many churches teach members how to meditate, and plan times to experience meditation?

“¢ Provides space to become intimate with the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. We need to engage that intimacy because we “are being built together to become a dwelling in which God lives by his Spirit” (Ephesians 2:22); and it is no longer only we, but also Christ lives in us (Galatians 2:20). Do we really think the Triune God living inside of us wears a muzzle? Can we be still long enough to experience the Lord passing by as he did with Elijah (1 Kings 19:9-18)? Can we back off long enough to hear a gentle whisper from our gracious Father who may be asking, “Can you hear me now?”

Perhaps it”s not just “Can we?” but also “Will we?” Will we be still and silent long enough to experience silence not as dead time, but as time alive and filled with the intimate presence of God speaking, “Listen, and you will hear me now, for I am always present. Be still and know that I am God.”

 

 

Knofel Staton is professor of biblical studies at Hope International University, Fullerton, California.