Silence truly is golden

This morning I awoke and was silent, in mind and tongue. I listened for God braving the time without thought nor speech as best I could. I was attempting to slow down.

Ever get that way? Ever feel overwhelmed? Ever feel you have volunteered for too much, or feel guilty that you haven't volunteered for enough or simply feel stressed by life?

Jesus did that. One of the things that was almost a common occurence was those trips up the mountains to, to, well, do nothing but pray. Sometimes, I believe, those prayers consisted of being quiet and still before the Father.

That's so difficult for many of us, I know. We have put quite a bit on our plates and we don't know how to get the stuff off the plate. So we battle and we try and we grimace and eventually we die with all that extra stuff on our plate.

But Jesus kept it simple.

Psalm 46 tells us to be still and know He is God. Simple. Direct. Lovingly, wonderfully meaningful.

Be quiet. Listen. Listen to yourself breathe. Listen to God say nothing, but feel the presence in your life.

It's not a bunch of hokum that the religious types have cooked up to make us do nothing better. It's a simply formula: spend whatever time you can with the one who loves you most.

The Bible says this: Then Moses and the priests, who are Levites, said to all Israel, "Be silent, O Israel, and listen! You have now become the people of the LORD your God.

And this: In your anger do not sin; when you are on your beds, search your hearts and be silent.

And this: ...a time to tear and a time to mend, a time to be silent and a time to speak,

And this: But the LORD is in his holy temple; let all the earth be silent before him."

And this: Be silent before the Sovereign LORD, for the day of the LORD is near.

I think you get the tone and the message. We must silence our daily chatter, silence our routines, silence our wants and wishes, silence our sins.

Be still, and in that stillness, know He is God.