In the Stillness

In the midst of competing priorities and noise in our lives it can be truly difficult to hear the voice of God. We have become accustomed to a constant stream of sensory input. From our phones, to the radio, our    earbuds… It is hard to walk into the store or down the street and not see someone with some sort of      headphone in their ear. We even sleep with sound  machines to try and help drown out the noise from outside… Noise to cancel out noise…
It can cause us to fear the silence… Like we are all alone… But what if the silence was meant for       something else… Dr. Charles Stanley once said “Loneliness is separation anxiety… brought by our feelings when we feel disconnected… The noise of our lives drives us further to the fear of being alone… to being disconnected from everything…” But Dr. Stanley goes further to say that “Solitude [intentional quiet time with God] is about becoming connected because solitude prepares us to face the tough day…”
Jesus taught his disciples this very principle while he was with them. Just before feeding the five thousand, crowds and crowds were coming up to Jesus and his disciples for help… and in the midst of that because so many people were coming and going that they did not even have a chance to eat, he said to them, “Come with me by yourselves to a quiet place and get some rest.” So they went away by themselves in a boat to a solitary place (Mark 6:31-32).
Jesus calls them to go away and recharge… To be with just him for a bit so that they might find rest in the day. We are called to the same… To recharge our spirits by finding places of Solitude to be with God… The author of Psalm 46 quotes God as saying be still and know that I am God (Psalm 46:10).
It is in the stillness that we come to know God more fully and more deeply. In the          intentional practice of solitude we can quiet the noise and hear his voice calling to us.
Why not start today… Become connected today… Find that patch of solitude within a day that is filled with noise…
Watch "Alone with God & His Word" by Francis Chan

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