SILENCE

Silence - (n.) absence of any sound or noise; stillness

We rarely encounter silence. Our days are bombarded by noise, and not with resistance either. In fact, the resistance comes when we do come across silence. For whatever reason, silence scares us, makes us insanely uncomfortable. I know that when I'm at my apartment alone, I have to have the tv on or music playing. The only time it's silent is at night when I'm sleeping, and not always then either. I know many people that sleep with music playing because of the uncomfortableness of silence.

Amidst all the chaos, we find ourselves struggling with our purpose and our direction. We strive to be successful in school, in our careers, in our churches, etc. We put up this front that shows the world that we do have direction, we have it all together, we know what's going on. Without a doubt, right? Ha! Right... If you're like me, you go through the motions on a daily basis and then there are moments that creep up on you that bury you with the weight of uncertainty that you've been denying has really been there all along. Never a good feeling. To me, these are reminders from God. Reminders that I am struggling with trust. That I'm trying to do it on my own, to take control, when really, He needs to be the One guiding and directing my life.

But how do we ever know where to go or what to do, if we never take the time to really listen? This can't be more demonstrated than through Elijah's encounter with God. Elijah was told by the Lord to go up the mountain (Mt. Sanai) and on the mountain Elijah encountered a windstorm, "but the Lord was not in the wind. After the wind there was an earthquake, but the Lord was not in the earthquake. And after the earthquake, there was a fire, but the Lord was not in the fire. And after the fire there was the sound of a gentle whisper." (1 Kings 19:11-13) The Lord was beyond all of the commotion of the occurring events. God's voice was a gentle whisper in the silence, and Elijah's ears were alert, they were ready, they wanted God's voice and understanding so much.

I struggle so much with not listening enough. I think we all do. We all desire this direction from God, but we never give Him the time of day to show us.

In reaction to reading about Elijah, Rachael and I went for a drive in silence one night. We've actually done it a couple of times now. The first time, the silence was overwhelming. It was peaceful and uncomfortable at the same time. It was hard not to talk. It was hard not to have music in the background. Only the sound of the road under the tires. By the end of it, we both talked about how it made us feel. The initial uncomfortableness and then the peace we found in it (a very weird combination, I must say). The second time we did this, it wasn't complete silence. I threw on This Will Destroy You very quietly in the background. I was seeking a specific answer about something from God. So we were silent for a long stretch and I was really trying to let God open my heart to what he was trying to tell me. By the end of it, I was given my answer, my peace. I was satisfied.

Everyone listened to my advice.
They were silent as they waited for me to speak.
And after I spoke, they had nothing to add,
for my counsel satisfied them.
-Job 29:21-22

This realization about silence and how essential it is to our lives reminded me of this Blindside song. It's one of my favorite songs by them. You should definitely check it out; I've included the lyrics here as well. One of my favorite parts is, "I believe in silence our hearts speak the same words." To me, that just shows how God reveals His answers to you. He gives your heart the understanding it longs for.

"SILENCE"
They won't see the fire you have lit inside of me.
They look up to the stars and wonder where you might be.
They look up.
Without realizing they're standing in the palm of your hand.
I can't explain or understand.
I just love you.

It's common knowledge that you've been dead for a while.
It's well known that the cross is only a burden with pains and trials.
But thinking how come my shoes are so light, how come I can walk for miles?
And still, just love you?

So I think I'll stay, caught up in silent prayer, cause I believe in silence
Our hearts speak the same words.
So why don't we just walk along the shoreline with our silent song?
Cause I believe in silence
Our hearts speak the same words, the same words.

We have to prove that our love is real, over and over again.
But let them think what they want cause I know It'll never end.
Cause I know when it began.
And my heart still pumps twice as fast whenever you walk by.
Cause I still love you.

So I think I'll stay, caught up in silent prayer, cause I believe in silence
Our hearts speak the same words.
So why don't we just walk along the shoreline with our silent song?
Cause I believe in silence.
Our hearts speak the same words, the same words.