Friday, January 28, 2011

A Quiet Heart, Part II

“’In returning and rest you shall be saved; in quietness and in trust shall be your strength.’” –Isaiah 30:15

Peace, rest, and strength are found in quietness. And yet...

We avoid the quiet in our world today. Why?

Because when all is quiet, when everything is stripped away, when distractions are left behind...

We are left with only ourselves. Our inadequacies, weaknesses, and sins. Our fears. Our unspoken heartaches and worries.

The peaceful silence we crave can also make us uncomfortable as we confront the issues we push aside during the busy day.

But wait.

Someone else is in that silence. We are not alone.

There's a God who meets us there. Who is with us when the weight of our weakness, pain, and fear descend in the silence.

A God who will be our strength when we are weak.

Who exhorts us to not fear, because He promises to be at our side, almighty and all-loving.

Who weeps with us when we weep (John 11:35—one of the shortest and most powerful verses in the Bible).

He whispers words of comfort in the silence. Words of healing, encouragement, and hope that we otherwise would not hear.

As I seek to have a quiet heart, I realize that it’s not only about silencing outer distractions, clutter, noise, and busy-ness—but also silencing the inner voices of fear, doubt, worry, and expectations…

So that we can hear His voice.

And as we learn to quiet our hearts, He is there to help.

“He made the storm be still, and the waves of the sea were hushed. Then they were glad because they had quiet, and he brought them to their desired haven” (Psalm 107: 29-30).

The One who quiets the storms and the sea can quiet our hearts.

Thank you, Lord.

No comments:

Post a Comment