Five minutes of quiet. That is what we heard when my parents needed a break from us talking, usually in the car or at the dinner table. Sometimes the whole family would sit in silence, or we kids would be quiet, and my parents would have an opportunity to talk. Not something any kid wants to hear, but now I understand this discipline’s value and the treasure it brings. Our world today shuns silence and avoids it at all costs—anything to fill in the void it exposes in our lives. So we turn up the music, scroll social media, find another app that dings at us and rush to the next activity.
To Busy
If Satan can’t get us anywhere else, he can surely get us to be busy. Busy schedules and stressful lives are applauded, and we do what we can to keep up with the expectations we put on ourselves. People ask how we are, “I’m just so busy!”—is often the reply they get. I am not condemning full schedules, simply challenging us to consider what busyness does for us; and why we find ourselves rushing to meet its demands.
“Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. On that day many will say to me, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and cast out demons in your name, and do many mighty works in your name?’ And then will I declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from me, you workers of lawlessness'” (Matthew 7:21-23). This is a sobering scenario that Jesus gives. Here are people who thought their hard work had secured them a place in heaven. They were busy with kingdom work but didn’t know the Father or his will for their lives. How many will be surprised by such news when they see Jesus face to face?
Struggling with Silence
We recently attended a retreat where the speaker challenged us to pray for 100 hours over whatever particular area we might be struggling in. Ben and I committed to praying 100 hours about our future, specifically some decisions we have to make this fall. I have been very alarmed at how difficult this task has been. Long periods of prayer used to come quite easily to me. With four kids, I have learned to adapt my prayer life to fit it in here and there, praying on the go and in short spurts. Carving out time and practicing silence and solitude has been more painful than I thought. Letting the minutes tick by without seeing much progress feels like a waste (even though I know there is nothing more valuable I could be doing!).
It’s incredible how much we can feel the desperation for God and long to be in his presence, but at the same time struggle immensely with the discipline of silently waiting before him. Of calming our soul to the point where we feel no need for anything other than God’s presence.
Not a Blast of Hurry
I often think of these lines from the hymn, Like a River Glorious, when the day’s busyness has gotten the best of me. I take some deep breaths and tune into our God, who is never in a hurry.
Not a surge of worry, not a shade of care,
Not a blast of hurry touch the spirit there.
Stayed upon Jehovah, hearts are fully blest
Finding, as He promised, perfect peace and rest. (Havergal, Frances)
There is always going to be a list of things to do. We will continually be invited to do more and add another commitment to our calendars. And the world will constantly be vying for our attention. But we must tune our ears to hear our Good Shepherd as he woos us into his love, leads us beside still waters, and makes us lay down in green pastures. Only after we are refreshed in him can we walk in the paths of righteousness that he has set before us.
Take time to be silent with our Good Shepherd today. You won’t regret it!
Beautifully shared a concept difficult for many to understand in life.
As always, well written and challenging.
Jason and I were just invited to speak at Urbana this fall and i find myself struggling with the decision. We have been over committed lately and have acknowledged our need to slow down. At the same time its hard to pass on such a great opportunity to share about things we are so passionate about. Reading this today was another reminder that God doesn’t need me. I was particularly struck by your final line “Only after we are refreshed in him can we walk in the paths of righteousness that he has set before us.” YES! and yes I still find myself fighting a level of FOMO. I can’t yet say that we are supposed to pass on the Urbana invitation but I am becoming increasingly aware that if we choose to say yes to that we must be willing to say no to a handful of other things so that we can operate out of his rest and not our strivings.
I’d love to hear more about the 100 hours of prayer too. Are you guys doing that together, apart, a combination of both. Are you organizing it into planned chunks that show up on the calendar every week or just tallying your hours as you find time? How far into it are you? Jason and I are taking this next season to celebrate 6 years on the field and ask God what the next season holds. It may be more of the same, or it may be something new. EIther way we want to be seeking him rather than just assuming the status quo is always the right answer.
Thank you for sharing your musings Karis! They are always appreciated Megan
Megan, thank you for your thoughtful response. I am praying that God give you the wisdom to know if the Urbana opportunity is right for you at this time.
As for the 100 hours of prayers, I wish I could say it was more scheduled, but we just try to fit it in when we can. We pray together when we can (which isn’t that often!) and then also pray separately. We only have 22 hours so far, but it has been SUCH a blessing! Usually ends up only being 30min to 1 hour chunks at a time.
Blessings to you and Jason!
Karis, I love your insight into silently waiting before the Lord. Years ago, I was diagnosed with an illness that put me on bed rest. I had to abruptly cancel everything on a very full calendar. I couldn’t understand why this was happening at such a busy time. Then, I realized that the Lord was putting me in “time out”. My illness made everything stop and gave me time to focus on God. This has happened again this year with covid in May, pneumonia in July and now, surgery in September, I have had to cancel everything on my calendar again. God has put me in “time out” to pray, study the scriptures and just listen to Him. It has been a special time with the Lord.