A Quieter Life

A Quiet Place

John Krasinski, from the office, directed and starred in the 2018 sci-fi horror movie “The Quiet Place”.

I am a sucker for a post-apocalyptic movie and I also loved the office, so I watched it...

Earth had been taken over by aliens who were blind, but who hunted with their supersonic hearing.

Every noise would potentially cause the aliens to attack and kill.

Needless to say, not a lot of people were alive by the time we meet John and his real-life wife, Emily Blunt.

Without giving away the whole movie, for those who haven’t watched it, the lesson we learn is it is hard to be quiet...

Imagine the terrifying premise of a quiet world.

No traffic sounds, people talking on their phones, music in the back ground, lawn mowers and emergency sirens… just the sound of the wind in the trees.

It sounds nice, but it is utterly terrifying.

And, if we are honest, silence is often hard for all of us to bear, hence why we likely rarely experience it and seldom pursue it.

There seems to always be something we are listening to or watching whether we are standing in line, driving a car, taking a shower (among other bathroom activities), or laying in bed.

Is there ever a “quiet moment” in our noisy world?

And because of that, have we grown a dislike for, a fear of, or, perhaps, an allergy to silence?

Solitude on the other hand, or being alone, is a bit more attainable for most, but the combination of a quiet place away from others and away from distractions is the more challenging practice for most of us.

But there is a need in us all to practice the rhythm and habit of silence and solitude before the Lord.

It is a need God speaks to throughout the Bible.

So, for the next few minutes, I want to walk through the WHY of silence and solitude then finish with a challenge and encouragement for the week.

Why Silence and Solitude?

The reason our series is called “Abiding with Jesus” and not “Spiritual Disciplines of the Christian Life” is because the desire and aim of these practices of our faith is that we dig deeper in our relationship with Jesus as we follow Him more closely, leading to a growing and more fulfilling walk with Him.

It isn’t about marking things off a list or forcing ourselves to do things that make us miserable.

These habits, including silence and solitude, are the soil and the fertilizer of a growing and fruitful walk with Jesus.

It is about abiding, planting ourselves in Him and He in us.

So the first “why” is simple

1) To FOLLOW Jesus.

As Jesus has shown us a devotion to the Word of God and a reliance upon prayer, we also find Jesus deeply valued silence and solitude in His earthly life.

Matthew 14:23 CSB

23 After dismissing the crowds, he went up on the mountain by himself to pray. Well into the night, he was there alone.

Mark 1:35 CSB

35 Very early in the morning, while it was still dark, he got up, went out, and made his way to a deserted place; and there he was praying.

And, as I shared last week, Luke tells us that this was normal for Jesus. Luke 5:16

Luke 5:16 CSB

16 Yet he often withdrew to deserted places and prayed.

Jesus understood the need for moments of turning off all the noise in order for us to quiet the noise in our own heart to hear what might be drowned out.

In each of the example passages, Jesus either left a busy and taxing day of ministry, and/or He took time before something big or challenging was about to come.

His example is challenging on 2 fronts.

Jesus was Immanuel, God became flesh, and He saw the need to get away from the distractions of the world; to be alone and listening.

How then are we better equipped than Him to not need the same things?

The answer is: we are not.

And second, Jesus never let busyness or obligations keep Him from taking time away.

We all feel the pressures of life and the responsibilities that keep us running from place to place.

The idea of stopping, getting away from others, and being quiet just seem like a farfetched idea.

And we might be tempted to compare our world with the world of Jesus.

And though their might be more distractions and junk in our world.

Jesus spent His years of ministry (last 3 years) in near constant travel and surrounded by people.

And yet, it was never an excuse.

The simplest answer to our question of why is to look at Jesus and follow His ways.

2) To QUIET our HEARTS.

King David likely wrote Psalm 131 in the middle of a crazy, chaotic time in his life, and there were plenty of those times for him.

Numerous times he lead Israel in to war and conquered lands.

He was chased both by Saul and later by his own son, both of which were out to kill him in order to secure the throne from him.

Several nations plotted against him.

And he was a man prone to sin, and the shame and guilt that followed.

Imagine the noise going on in David’s heart from the chaos of his life.

And so David writes:

Psalm 131 CSB

1 Lord, my heart is not proud; my eyes are not haughty. I do not get involved with things too great or too wondrous for me. 2 Instead, I have calmed and quieted my soul like a weaned child with its mother; my soul is like a weaned child. 3 Israel, put your hope in the Lord, both now and forever.

In all the chaos of life, David says, “I am not too proud to admit my weakness and weariness.”

“I am not foolish enough to believe I can handle the things far too big for me.”

David had learned to calm and quiet his soul before the Lord.

Like a “weaned child” means like a child who no longer frets and cries for milk, but has grown a trust that his mother will provide what He needs.

David is expressing the inward/spiritual goal of physical silence.

“Silence and Solitude with God repairs the damage done by the fret and noise, and clamour of the world.” —Oswald Chambers

It is a physical acknowledgement that we don’t have the word, wisdom, or wherewithal to handle all the stuff we are trying to carry.

It is doing of what Jesus said in Matthew 11:30

Matthew 11:28–30 CSB

28 “Come to me, all of you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. 29 Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, because I am lowly and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. 30 For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.”

We are able to unload our hearts before the Lord.

And for that reason...

3) To HEAR from GOD.

“Silence is nothing else but waiting for God’s Word and coming from God’s Word with a blessing.” — Dietrich Bonhoeffer

You might be thinking “I could really use a night off with nothing to do, but sit around.”

But that isn’t the goal.

It isn’t taking a break to binge watch a Netflix series or catch up on a book you haven’t had time to read.

Silence and Solitude place us in the position and posture to hear from God without distraction.

Guided by the Word of God, in a posture and position of prayer, we are able to listen for God’s to speak through His Word and through His Spirit.

Not for an audible voice, but through an open heart and an open bible.

I am reminded of Elijah in 1 Kings 19.

After an incredible showdown with the prophets of Baal, Elijah is exhausted and depressed and runs off to the wilderness.

God meets him there and brings Him to the mountain at Horeb.

There was a powerful wind, an earthquake and a fire, but “God wasn’t in those things”

And then there was a still, small voice in the midst of the silence, the voice of God speaking to Elijah.

Contrary to popular belief, prayer does not need to end when we run out of things to say. Silence is an opportunity that we can take in prayer to allow the Holy Spirit to speak to us through the Word of God as we commune with God.

4) To REMEMBER who we are in CHRIST.

There is a constant barrage of voices telling us who we are and what we need.

Silence and solitude gives us the opportunity to turn those voices off in order to hear, and be reminded of who we are in Christ.

When we are quiet we are able to examine the thoughts, feelings, motivations, and aspirations of our hearts and minds.

And it is here that God word can remind us of who we are.

Jesus says in John 10 that “His sheep hear His voice and He knows them, and they follow Him.”

The voice of Jesus is the voice that matters most in our lives, to define what is true in the world and to define what is true about us.

Reminded that we are loved, redeemed, and chosen. 

Helping us fight the feelings of inadequacy and doubt that comes from trying to prove ourselves to others or to ourselves.

Ephesians 1:4–8 NLT

4 Even before he made the world, God loved us and chose us in Christ to be holy and without fault in his eyes. 5 God decided in advance to adopt us into his own family by bringing us to himself through Jesus Christ. This is what he wanted to do, and it gave him great pleasure.

Ephesians 1:4–8 NLT

6 So we praise God for the glorious grace he has poured out on us who belong to his dear Son. 7 He is so rich in kindness and grace that he purchased our freedom with the blood of his Son and forgave our sins. 8 He has showered his kindness on us, along with all wisdom and understanding.

A moment of Silence

I want to end by giving you 3 suggestions/encouragements/challenges in regards to Silence and Solitude.

Start small and continue to add more.

Start with 5 minutes, then move to 10, 15, 20...

Don’t complicate things.

Find a quiet place away from people and just be quiet.

Then add a passage of scripture to just meditate on for your time.

Eliminate distractions.

Don’t bring a phone or device.

No music or earbuds

Let’s try it out

Quiet for 3 mins.

Close your eyes and listen.

Psalm 46:10 ESV

10 “Be still, and know that I am God.”