Chasing Silence

Reposted with permission from SwallowtailGroup.com

The reality is, it is normal to be on Instagram, Facebook, and every other social media platform all the time. When we get home, we watch Netflix, Disney+, or Amazon Prime. So much so that we have become uncomfortable with silence. But what does the Bible say about that?

Psalms 23:2-3a says “[the Lord] is my shepherd, I shall not want. He makes me lie down in green pastures, He leads me beside still waters. He restores my soul.”
Green pastures and still waters are peaceful. They don’t carry the noise that most of the world does. This doesn’t fit with what I’m used to.
Because, as someone who has been praised her entire life for what she can say or bring to the conversation, silence sucks.

Silence feels unnatural.
Silence even makes me squirm.

Silence feels like I’m not contributing anything and that I’m not useful.
Silence makes me listen to my body (tired), my brain (running a million miles a minute), and, honestly, silence requires me to listen to the Holy Spirit. Which, combined with that nagging feeling that I should have something to show for my time, isn’t useful.

I think back to 12-year-old me with fondness and I recall walks through nature, soaking in God’s presence, and even silently reading, and I miss my life without the obsessive need to fill the gap. Heck, even after finishing writing this, I’m tempted to take a break and fill my mind with another Netflix movie.

The reality is, God calls us to sit in His silence. He makes us lie down beside quiet waters. I’m not good at it. We aren’t. It’s so much nicer to sit down and watch The Office re-runs. But when we start to chase the silence and make space for it, we get access to God’s restoration. We get to make room for what Holy Spirit is saying.

We get access to silence on a daily basis, if only we chase it — Emily Mason