Crave Silence

Silence is not always for Breakthrough.

Sometimes it is just for a break....This is a truth that I truly struggle with becuase I like to see breakthrough and progress. So it is very hard for me when I do not see positive results right away. This is not just true for Solitude and Silence but weight loss, and other areas of my life.

I think we are all like this to some point. Especially when it comes to wholeness or emotional health. We all have a little bit of us that gets our self worth from being good at something and when we hit a wall or seem to struggle a bit not only do we get frustrated at the circumstance but we often struggle with self worth.

This is a sign that we need to take a break and seek to eliminate all the negative self talk and negativity of the world and listen for the loving voice of God. When it seems like God is not speaking it is usually becuase we are so overwhelmed with other voices that the drown out the one voice that has the healing power we need for our emotions and our spirit.

This is why Jesus had times of solitude and silence on a regular basis.

Matthew 14:22-23

Matthew 14:22–23 NLT

22 Immediately after this, Jesus insisted that his disciples get back into the boat and cross to the other side of the lake, while he sent the people home. 23 After sending them home, he went up into the hills by himself to pray. Night fell while he was there alone.

Jesus was not trying to get a breakthrough…He was trying to get a break.

This break is in the midst of great busyness…Feeding 5,000…Healing....walking on water etc....yet in the midst of all the people screaming for a piece of His time he went away to be alone.

Make Silence a Priority during your day.

A Few minutes of solitude and silence is just as important as community.

In his book Life Together he titled one of his chapters the day together, and the next chapter the day alone. Both are essential for spiritual success. He writes “Let him who cannot be alone beware of community...Let him who is not in community beware of being alone”

Each by itself has profound pitfalls and perils. One who wants fellowship without solitude plunges into the void of words and feelings, and one who seeks solitude without fellowship perishes in the abyss of vanity, self- infatuation, and despair.

So I want to make it clear I am not advocating isolating yourself from society or community....Community is just as important as solitude....It is when we exclude one completely that we are in danger of hurting ourselves emotionally and spiritually.

It is a balancing act that can only be figured out by doing or OJT....

There are times in the day where we can break free for 10, 15, 30 min or an hour to get the emotional medicine we need to hear from God and to Breath life in the midst of our busyness, so that we can in fact function in community.

There is not hard rule for the amount of solitude we need…we do need to listen to our emotions and God like we talked last week to find the balance of too much or not enough silent solitude.

In times of Solitude and Silence we:

Are able to surrender our will to the will of God

Allow God to develop an intimate relationship with us....I had someone get really mad at me once for using the term intimate and God.

We are able to allow God to deeply transform us.

Give space to hear God’s voice without the noise of the world. When we hear God’s voice we become deeply aware of God’s presence and peace lifting our burden’s and giving us rest.

Taking time to be silent before God is what will allow us to do for God ourselves and others in an emotionally and Spiritually healthy way.

I know this is counter intuitive to us. In fact there are some that would even call this type of activity emotional mumbo jumbo, a waste of time or even lazy.

We are so used to hearing people tell us to stay busy or do more that to simply take time to stop and seek God in our busiest moments is almost laughable. When we convince ourselves that we do not have time to break away it is in those times we need silence and solitude the most.

Solitude and Silence create a healthy sense of self by allowing God to remind us that our obedience to God is what brings the peace we desire.

God does not call us to be productive, efficient or productive....God calls us to be dependent and obedient to Holy Spirits leading…which we cannot do if we are continually straining to hear God in the midst of all the noise that is around us.

Matthew 11:28-30

New Living Translation Chapter 11

28 Then Jesus said, “Come to me, all of you who are weary and carry heavy burdens, and I will give you rest. 29 Take my yoke upon you. Let me teach you, because I am humble and gentle at heart, and you will find rest for your souls. 30 For my yoke is easy to bear, and the burden I give you is light.”

Let’s embrace the Awkwardness of silence before we come to the table…Close your eyes....take a deep breath…picture Jesus sitting with you holding your hand…or just looking at you with love. You may even want to come to the Altar and just Be....

Let your heart speak to him in these next two min and let Jesus heart speak to you. This will be awkward but if you in good faith silence your mind and heart surrendering to God it could be the best two min you spend in your day.

After we will come to the table and be dismissed after we receive the elements together and be dismissed.

2 min Silence

Communion Receive and God