The other day I was sitting in my living room mulling over too many things. You know how it is, you can be sitting still doing absolutely nothing on the outside but inside, you have planned what you are going to wear the next day, what bills need to be paid by next week and what you would say to that person the next time you saw them, good or bad.
Well, my television was on, the dishwasher was humming and I am sure my laptop was on somewhere waiting for me to check email. As I sat there, I decided to turn the television off because there was too much nonsense coming out of it. I then proceeded to do nothing while thinking about everything. As I sat there, I noticed the dishwasher had stopped; this was great because that gave me one less thing to think about and enabled me to start thinking about something else in its place.
Well, my television was on, the dishwasher was humming and I am sure my laptop was on somewhere waiting for me to check email. As I sat there, I decided to turn the television off because there was too much nonsense coming out of it. I then proceeded to do nothing while thinking about everything. As I sat there, I noticed the dishwasher had stopped; this was great because that gave me one less thing to think about and enabled me to start thinking about something else in its place.
Then I began to notice that more background sounds started to disappear, it was as if someone had called my name. I honestly wanted to say “huh?” You know when someone calls your name; your response would be “huh” or “here I am”.
The lack of sound was so captivating; I knew it required a response. As I attempted to respond to what I call Quiet, I found myself shutting down every thought, imagination and situation in my mind and focusing on what Quiet was saying. What did Quiet want? Why was Quiet talking to me? What would I have to offer Quiet? Quiet can seem like such a foreign place.
I remember reading about an incident in the Bible when Jesus calmed the wind and the waves of the sea. This was no ordinary calm. It was called a “great calm”; I likened it to all my background sounds stopping to an absolute degree. It was a “no-sound”,
if I may, that required a response.
Jesus spoke, ”Peace, be Still” to the wind and waves and they obeyed. Could our moments, our lives, our situations, hopes and dreams really obey, when Quiet speaks, “Peace, be Still”? When I listened, Quiet reminded me of the promises Jesus spoke like, “I will never leave you, nor forsake you, and I am here. You will be triumphant. I have made a way of escape out of your situations”. All sorts of wonderful things that I was not even coming close to thinking until Quiet caught my attention.
The Bible talks about listening for the still small voice of God and, yes, it sometimes requires us to quiet ourselves to hear that voice. There is another reason to heed the call of Quiet. In 1 Peter 3:3-4 it reads, ‘Do not let your adornment be merely outward—arranging the hair, wearing gold, or putting on fine apparel, rather let it be the hidden person of the heart, with the incorruptible beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is very precious in the sight of God.’
Now, after some background study of that scripture (yes, the Greek... ;-) ). This is how I now read it: Do not let your world
be merely outward, arranging the hair, wearing gold or putting on fine apparel, rather let it be the hidden person of the heart, with the incorruptible beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is very precious in the sight of God.
We must be mindful of that place where we are trying to arrange everything in our lives based on our limited knowledge, wearing or taking on more stuff/cares/situations than we could possibly handle by ourselves; and putting on or surrounding ourselves with negative influences. When Quiet calls or more specifically, when the Spirit of God calls, take the time to listen and respond. He has the answers you are searching for without compromise. He will enable you to walk in that constant beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit. It sometimes takes the captivating call of Quiet to get us there.
I have heard it said that people are afraid to be alone with their own thoughts...how about getting alone with HIS thoughts.
Peace!
The lack of sound was so captivating; I knew it required a response. As I attempted to respond to what I call Quiet, I found myself shutting down every thought, imagination and situation in my mind and focusing on what Quiet was saying. What did Quiet want? Why was Quiet talking to me? What would I have to offer Quiet? Quiet can seem like such a foreign place.
I remember reading about an incident in the Bible when Jesus calmed the wind and the waves of the sea. This was no ordinary calm. It was called a “great calm”; I likened it to all my background sounds stopping to an absolute degree. It was a “no-sound”,
if I may, that required a response.
Jesus spoke, ”Peace, be Still” to the wind and waves and they obeyed. Could our moments, our lives, our situations, hopes and dreams really obey, when Quiet speaks, “Peace, be Still”? When I listened, Quiet reminded me of the promises Jesus spoke like, “I will never leave you, nor forsake you, and I am here. You will be triumphant. I have made a way of escape out of your situations”. All sorts of wonderful things that I was not even coming close to thinking until Quiet caught my attention.
The Bible talks about listening for the still small voice of God and, yes, it sometimes requires us to quiet ourselves to hear that voice. There is another reason to heed the call of Quiet. In 1 Peter 3:3-4 it reads, ‘Do not let your adornment be merely outward—arranging the hair, wearing gold, or putting on fine apparel, rather let it be the hidden person of the heart, with the incorruptible beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is very precious in the sight of God.’
Now, after some background study of that scripture (yes, the Greek... ;-) ). This is how I now read it: Do not let your world
be merely outward, arranging the hair, wearing gold or putting on fine apparel, rather let it be the hidden person of the heart, with the incorruptible beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is very precious in the sight of God.
We must be mindful of that place where we are trying to arrange everything in our lives based on our limited knowledge, wearing or taking on more stuff/cares/situations than we could possibly handle by ourselves; and putting on or surrounding ourselves with negative influences. When Quiet calls or more specifically, when the Spirit of God calls, take the time to listen and respond. He has the answers you are searching for without compromise. He will enable you to walk in that constant beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit. It sometimes takes the captivating call of Quiet to get us there.
I have heard it said that people are afraid to be alone with their own thoughts...how about getting alone with HIS thoughts.
Peace!
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