Quiet for Our Souls in a Sensory-Seeking World

Honestly, I must be the world’s worst camper, even after traveling around the states in a blue van in the 70’s, with my brother and parents.

As a child, I preferred gathering frogs, searching for arrowhead’s like some ancient Indian ruling the land, or hiking up mountains imagining our ship had been wrecked, left to survive like Swiss Family Robinson.

I always had trouble with sitting. Even when forced to, I found myself filling my head with music, stories from my own wild imagination, engaging in some dream of who I’d become, or what distant lands might looked like.

As I grew, I became more goal oriented, A-type, sensory seeking, wildly imaginative. Being “quiet” in my depths, was not my forte.

Yet by grace, God is refining me, as I find Him through revelation, worship, and wisdom from His Holy Word…

But honestly? Some of the most profound, powerful moments of my life’s journey have been when God stilled me, quieted me through illness, surgery, sickness, hard circumstances, or grieving.

It was in those valley’s, too paralized to move; not physically but emotionally, where God ran to my side, slid me up on His shoulders like the one lost lamb, found me, like a coin in the ninety-nine, ran to me in my mud-drenched state, confirming He still loves me….

Unequivocally, undeniably, unquestionably, and despite what I could offer or bring.

Let’s face it, I can be an expert at coming to God with both hands gripping; full of purpose, praise, promise, dreams, or finances.

I have been taught well about giving, performing and working for God…

But what about when I am empty? What about when nothing in me aspires to know Him? What about when we are tired, weak, helpless, or discouraged? Do we get… God loves us the same…even then?

The word I felt God gave me for 2018 was, “quiet”. I am not gonna lie, I thought it was a pretty strange word the first time I heard it.

Quiet? What does that even mean? I am not really a loud person, am pretty good at listening, and I love silence; sitting without noise and doing what He asks…after being in His presence.

But, as the last few months have passed, He has shown me, “Quiet” isn’t just about our physical position, a silent act, or some muted disposition…”

“Quiet” is about silencing our souls, sitting by the fire of His will, quieting the noise of our hopes, dreams, and purposes to simply be where He is. 

“Quiet” is about putting every hope, offering, dream, or expectation away…and coming to Him empty, willing, and waiting.

Open arms. Empty hands. Willing heart. Silenct heads…

Listening for His answers. Content simply by being in His presence. Coming to Him empty, and letting that be enough….

Letting us be enough. Just. As. We. Are.

My earthly dad is an expert as “Quiet”. He always says the greatest gift is, “Peace, peace,wonderful peace.” And anyone who meets him, sees it.

He can sit with me…or anyone else, really…for hours, not saying a word. Just nodding, hugging me, until I leave His presence better than I came.

And I imagine that’s how it is in the presence of our loving Savior. And isn’t that what He wants all of us to be like, as His children…

Good. Whole. Peaceful. A generation of people saying, “Despite the circumstances, ‘It is well with my soul.'”

Content just resting where His glory dwells. Not offering or giving, justifying, or filling ourselves with shame, pride FULL, or guilt-filled…

Just trusting…

He is enough. So we don’t have to be.

Have you ever been camping and met those people who sit by the fire for hours? Not moving, not rushing, not having to jump up for this thing or that?

They just sit, “Quiet”, watching the beauty of a fire saturating everything in its presence, basking in the glory of the beauty of its heat.

If they move, it might only be to throw in a few branches, to stock the flames that light their faces, warming their countenance from within.

So, what if we were a generation of people who put the fire first?

Who sought not to rise and do, explore, dream, business plan for the next big boom….but valued first, the power of the “Quiet” of His presence, the stillness of our very own souls?

What if we sat, “quiet”, before we rose and spoke, before we darted off and posted on Facebook, sought to change the world, or tried to do great things for God?

How might the world see us differently as Christians? More humble? Gentle? Approachable? Kind? Good listeners?

How might our image of forceful, judgemental, pushy or arrogant strip itself from us as we rest in the place of the quiet of His heart?

Would we find joy in the morning when He is the center? Would we forget about our own will, effortlessly valuing Him, making His purposes our very hope and center?

I am a million miles away from teaching my mind to cease from vision casting, dreaming, wanting to save the world in a thousand different ways…

But I am learning the word He has called me to, in this season, “Quiet”.

A word that’s active, not passive. A word that opens, meditates, and is willing to rest in His goodness. Open ears to listen. Feet filled with His peace and purposes.

The world has enough chatty Christians. Christian’s boastful, forcing their own answers in the face of the unsuspecting…

But, what if we waited on a Savior to make us, call us, equip us? What if we longed most, just to sit in His glory…without justification or answers?

Would we find delight in watching the flame of His love dance before our faces?

Would we learn we are enough without profiling or performing? Would we find freedom as we are; empty, trusting, knowing He still loves us…

Despite what we give or do?

Jesus changed me, and continues to change me…not just on the mountain-tops, in those loud victories where we seek His will and accomplish great things for God…

But in the valleys.

He has taught me to sit by the fire, even when I feel empty, are unable to offer Him anything. When life is hard, unbearable, unpredictable, unquestionably filled with evil and sin…

Perhaps there, His light flickers brightest?

On the darkest of nights, maybe that’s when the flames of His love fills us most and warms our dampened, broken souls?

Let’s become a generation whose lighted-faces carry His countenance…coming as we are…

Knowing that is enough…

QUIET, in Greek

ḗremos (an adjective) – properly, undisturbed; (figuratively) quiet; free from outward disturbance; tranquil; without needless commotion or disturbances (used only in 1 Tim 2:2).

/ḗremos (“undisturbed”) is used of the tranquil lifestyle of someone who is composed (“self-contained, discreet”).

(ḗremos) figuratively refers to being composed (quiet), avoiding what is flamboyant (ostentatious).]