I want peace—soul-soothing peace. Yet I was born into the stretched-out plains of noise.
I’ve learned with experience that when I feel the hubbub taking me away from God, it’s time to retreat from the whirring crowds and sink into the private creases of life so I can hear Him more. Knowing and doing are two different things. My aim is to quiet the noise so I can draw closer to God. But lately, even in my solitude, the problem persists, and I am troubled by that. In the noise, I had an excuse, which is why—I am sure—I welcomed it in all its curious forms of distraction. Now, unadapted as I have become to the silence, the quiet proves too much.
I am wounded, guilty, anxious about many things, and the beckoning silence wants me to pause long enough to feel all three. Do I really want what it offers? Really, really? Though trembling, I do. Though fully aware that from out of the deepest of the deep, God offers the soul-devouring invitation to give up every single idol I cling to, for Him.
“Be still and know that I am God,” He says (Psalm 46:10a).
My hungry soul responds, “Therein lies my peace.”
I hope this encourages you to welcome the silence today.
Kevin Murray
© 11/15/16 All rights reserved
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