Restored through Silence and Solitude

Introduction

Good morning Rejoice Church family! I am thankful for the opportunity to share with you about the disciplines of silence and solitude as we reflect on Psalm 46 together. Psalm 46 is one of those Psalms that many people are familiar with, especially verse 10 which instructs us to be still and know that God is God and we are not. The Psalm is like a stream of water in a dry place. My prayer for all of us this morning is that we will begin to practice silence and solitude as acts of trust and submission in our sovereign and good God. The title of the message this morning is, “Restored through Silence and Solitude”. Before we go any further, let’s take a moment to center our hearts in prayer.

Pray

Peter Scazzero illustrates well the current situation we find ourselves in spiritually. In his book, Emotionally Healthy Spirituality (140), he writes,

Many of us have lost our way, spiritually, in the whiteout of the blizzard swirling around us. Blizzards begin when we say yes to too many things. Between demands from work and family, our lives fall somewhere between full and overflowing. We multitask, so much so that we are unaware we are doing three things at once. We admire people who are able to accomplish so much in so little time. They are our role models.

Is there anyone here this morning who relates to what this pastor and author said? Scazzerro also said,

At the same time, many of us are overscheduled, tense, addicted to hurry, frantic, preoccupied, fatigued, and starved for time. Cramming as much as possible into our to-do lists, we battle life to make the best use of every spare minute we have.

As Pastor Scazzero observes, we live in a fast-paced world. Perhaps you or someone you know frequently use the expression, “If I only had more time!”. We all have the same amount of hours in a day. What matters is how we prioritize our time and organize our days. One of the great needs in the Christian community today is a renewal of the spiritual disciplines of silence and solitude. Psalm 46 teaches us that silence and solitude are acts of submission and trust.

The truth is, we were not meant to work seven days a week. God created us with a built-in rhythm that includes a regular Sabbath. As New Testament believers living in the 21stcentury, we need this message now more than ever. Before we can understand what it means to practice a regular Sabbath, or what it means to practice silence and solitude daily, we must consider what Psalm 46 is saying to us.

Read the text.

Overview of the Passage

Psalm 46 is one of those Psalms that has been a favorite of the people of God for centuries. This passage inspired Martin Luther to write his hymn which we refer to as “A Mighty Fortress is Our God”. The Psalm is attributed to the sons of Korah and is dedicated to the choirmaster or worship leader in the temple. Who were these “sons of Korah” and how does a historical awareness of their identity impact the way we understand this passage?

The Eerdman’s Bible Dictionary notes that “Korah was the leader of an uprising against Moses and Aaron”. (632) [See also Numbers 16 or Jude 11. At least 250 people were involved in this uprising. The primary concern of the revolt was a challenge to Moses on the limitation of the priesthood to Aaron’s descendants. (Num.3:2-3,10) Korah’s three sons survived an encounter in which some 14,700 descendants of Korah died as a result of their rebellion. Three of Korah’s sons are mentioned as gatekeepers in the temple and as singers.

What we have in Psalm 46 is a hymn about God’s presence from those who knew both the consuming nature of God’s presence as well as the beauty of God’s presence. As we journey through the Psalm this morning, we need to recognize that the truth’s about God’s presence was a personal experience for the writers. The sons of Korah wanted the temple worshippers and us to recognize God’s abiding presence in the midst of chaos. They wanted the worshipping community to stop all activity as an act of trust and submission to the sovereign Lord. They knew all too well the dangers of presuming on or rushing spiritual matters that cannot and should not be rushed.

With that background information in mind, let’s look at the three sections of the passage together.

This Psalm can be divided into three sections.

The verse divisions from this message are based on the appearance of the word Selah which was likely a musical notation indicating division or pause in the Hebrew hymnbook called Psalms. Each set of verses describe a particular aspect of God’s presence.

Notice the first aspect of God’s presence from the first three verses.

God’s presence in suffering strengthens faith. (vv.1-3)

Psalm 46:1-3 “God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble. Therefore we will not fear though the earth gives way, though the mountains be moved into the heart of the sea, though its waters roar and foam, though the mountains tremble at its swelling. Selah”

These verses begin with a truth claim about God. God remains constant despite the storms we face in this life. He remains present as our refuge and strength. We need to understand what these two terms are referring to before we move on.

Refuge

Think of the term refuge as shelter. A refuge is a place where we go to escape the elements. Here in middle Tennessee, we have experienced a lot of snow lately. We have sought refuge in our warm homes. The covenant-keeping God we serve is our only place of security. His presence even in suffering strengthens our faith. We need to run to God for safety and security rather than all the other places we are so prone to seek refuge!

Dietrich Bonhoeffer provides a timely word on the refuge a house provides. He said, “Most people have forgotten nowadays what a house can mean, though some of us have come to realize it as never before. It is a kingdom of its own in the midst of the world, a stronghold amid life’s storms and stresses, a refuge, even a sanctuary.” Brothers and sisters, we are only at home truly when we trust our covenant keeping God. Let’s be sure God is our refuge rather than the temporality of creaturely commfort!— Dietrich Bonhoeffer, Letters and Papers from Prison”

Strength

The sons of Korah recognized that God was both the refuge and strength for his people. The word strength in the original language is rich. It can refer to strength in the material and the physical, it can refer to personal, social, and political strength, or to the might of God. The connection between God as our refuge and strength is clearly evident here in this Psalm as well as in Proverbs 18:10

Proverbs 18:10 ESV

The name of the Lord is a strong tower; the righteous man runs into it and is safe.

God’s presence remains constant, despite the storms we face that attempt to distract us from Him. His abiding presence strengthens our faith.

Notice with me the second aspect of God’s presence which is that HIs presence contains an invitation and a promise.

God’s all-consuming presence remains constant, regardless of the storms we face. (vv.4-7)

Verses 4-7 teach us about the reality that God is always present, no matter how messed up or stormy life can get at times. Verse 4 mentions a river “whose streams make glad the city of God”. The Holy city did not have an actual river flowing through the middle of it. This was a literary device used throughout the Old Testament, often in reference to Eden, where the life giving waters flowed out into creation. Rivers allowed for transport of essential goods and services. The idea in verse four is that the city of God or the place where God dwells will never be lacking anything necessary for survival. The reason the people of God do not have to worry about anything is because as verse 5 says, “God is in the midst of her”.

Verses 6 and 7 portray a contrast between the broken kingdoms of this world, which really have only pretend power. All the real power belongs to God. Whenever he speaks, when his voice cascades like a waterfall, “the earth melts”. God is sovereign. There is none higher or greater than the personal covenant keeping God of Scripture, the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. This is the one true God and one of His names is “Lord of Hosts” or “Lord of Armies”. When we think about God’s might and power, we we are like Isaiah. We become undone when we encounter His presence because we are so unworthy.

Isaiah 6:5 ESV

And I said: “Woe is me! For I am lost; for I am a man of unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips; for my eyes have seen the King, the Lord of hosts!”

No matter what might be falling apart around you or in your own life, you can rest knowing that God’s got this and that He has you, child of God.

Before we can move on to application, we need to look at the last section of Psalm 46.

God’s presence cannot be rightly valued unless silence and solitude are practiced. (vv.8-11)

Most of our application will come from verses 8 and 10, so I do not want to say to much here. Verses 8-11 are the fountain of life we all truly long for. We need to prioritize God’s presence and make a commitment, an appointment to meet with God daily, to behold his beauty in creation regularly, and to be still as an antidote to the sickness of never resting and delighting in God.

Applications

Two actions are a fitting application of this Psalm. These actions help us develop our understanding of what it means to practice silence and solitude.

1. Recognize that God is with us. (v.7)

This passage reminds us that the Lord of hosts is with us. One name for our Messiah Jesus is Immanuel, which means God with us. The God of the universe has decided to make you and me his first priority. The fact that he is present, the fact that he will never abandon us, even when we are not faithful to him, should compel us to stop and worship, church family! There is no storm that you are currently facing or will face that removes His presence or His love from you.

Notice with me the second action step from verses 8 and 10.

2. Make time for God by slowing down. (vv. 8, 10)

Verse 8 invites us to come behold the works of the Lord. Verse 10 instructs us to be still and know God. Brothers and sisters, we must not make the mistake of assuming that these verses cannot actually be lived out in the real world. We must make time to slow down. Our lives depend on the spiritual disciplines of silence and solitude. When we do not live in the rhythm God intended for us to live we will end up burnout, depressed, anxious, or maybe even physically sick. We must ask the Holy Spirit to help us live out these truths in our lives individually and in our lives as a corporate community. While we are on the subject of prioritizing slowing down and our life as a worshipping community, I want you to invite me to consider something with me.

While I do not think we should be at church all afternoon, I do think sometimes we come here on Sundays in hurry mode. We want to sing the next song, say the next prayer, get through the sermon and rush across town to lunch. I want you to think seriously what a slow-down would look like for us as a worshipping community and for you as an individual disciple of Jesus. We rush through corporate worship and don’t have time for God or anyone else for that matter. Church, if we want to see God restore our homes, our marriages, our church, our community, we must take seriously the disciplines of silence and solitude. So what will it look like to practice silence and solitude?

Let’s consider a few important principles about silence and solitude together.

Silence and Solitude: Pro Tips from a Non Pro

Without silence and solitude, we cannot experience the full life God intends for us as disciples.