My soul, wait thou in silence for God only; For my expectation is from him. Psalm 62:5
My precious Brothers and Sisters,
Though simplicity may be our desire I find it counter-intuitive to the way we live. In our complex culture daily life is anti-simplistic. In reading Christian classics it is obvious the great saints of the past embraced quiet in their living. They paint a very different picture of a spiritual walk, on the canvas of their lives, than we experience. We overflow with endless activity and make lists awash with all we must do. At one time these characteristics described a secular life. Today, sadly, it is true of much of the church. They have forsaken ‘quiet’ and are strangers to ‘Be still and know I am God”.
As the years have passed I long for freedom of simplicity. ‘LORD, how does one go from a life of busyness in an all but quiet life, where guest-rooms are lacking guests and our storage is overflowing with stuff, while the clutter of work-saving conveniences spills from our cupboards? ‘LORD, where is the simplicity that invites You to be our Days? Is it busyness or the false security of our cherished clutter which plugs our ears and keeps You at a safe distance?’
Pascal speaking of young people and nowadays people in general: Their lives are all noise, diversions, and thought for the future. But take away their diversion and you will see them bored to extinction. Then they feel their nullity without recognizing it, for nothing could be more wretched than to be intolerably depressed as soon as one is reduced to introspection with no means of diversion.
G. Thomas: Our chaos of the soul and busyness of the spirit robs us of our God-given destiny to find fulfillment in a relationship with Him. A voice deep within our souls tells us something is wrong, but we are too afraid to slow down and find out how life could be different.
Pascal: Young or old, rich or poor, powerful or weak, influential or anonymous… the thing we fear most is quiet. Yet inner peace is conceived in the quiet. Without quiet we grow restless.
G. Thomas: The more people rejoice over something outside God, the less intense will be their joy in God: and the more their hope goes out toward something else, the less there is for God.
For our rejoicing is this, the testimony of our conscience, that in simplicity and godly sincerity, not with fleshly wisdom, but by the grace of God, we have had our conversation in the world, 2 Corinthians 1:12
To begin cultivating simplicity is difficult; it hurts! It’s quiet! But the reward is immeasurable. God gives Himself. He delights to communicate to us who He is! His nature is to give because He loves. God is not selfish and keeps nothing from us that we are ready to receive. Unbelief weighs us down like excess baggage. When I am wrapped up and entangled at every turn by busyness and ‘stuff’, I am left numb by its assaults, jaded, and without energy to care about what is really important. Like Young Augustine who wrote: “thus with the baggage of this present world was I held down pleasantly, as in sleep.”
Hear this:
No soldier in active service entangles himself in the affairs of everyday life (stuff!), so that he may please the one who enlisted him as a soldier. II Timothy 2:4 “Lord, remind me often it is You I am to please and this life is not about me.”
For we have brought nothing into the world, so we cannot take anything out of it either. If we have food and covering, with these we shall be content. But those who want to get rich fall into temptation and a snare and many foolish and harmful desires (stuff) which plunge men into ruin and destruction. I Timothy 6:7-9
Be ye free from the love of money; content with such things as ye have: for He, Himself hath said, I will in no wise fail thee, neither will I in any wise forsake thee. Hebrews 13:5
I wound the One I love, grieve His Spirit as I let stuff get in the way. Material stuff, busy stuff! Things to do, places to go, people to see. Isn’t that how we do life? Where is the quiet? Out in the world I often hear, “It’s all good”. No, to be political incorrect, it’s not all good! (Is this verbiage the secular version of Romans 8:28?) Without apology I state, ‘all things are not good, only God is good, always! Only God takes all our messes, our sins and all that is not good, even our feeble efforts to serve Him, and He works all things to create the likeness of His Son Jesus in us. Hallelujah! What is impossible with man is possible with God.
If I am abiding in my risen Lord, it will show itself. I shall not be afraid of changes around me. I shall live not in apathy and listlessness, but in the exercise of lively affections and energies toward my Lord, Another great evidence of my abiding in Him is quietness. I have my portion in Him above and I walk on. JND
I am humbled that He honors my quiet;
Lord, I need the quiet. You who command the angel armies, teach me to find quiet each day whether it is short or long, I want to be with You and know You intimately. Lead me to simplify my life that I might know You as my ‘Life’. Reveal where I waste time or expect too much from myself. I really need discernment for I view things so differently than You. Enable me to do the next thing that pleases You. I am Your servant, Adoni. I pray in the beautiful Name above all names, Yeshua. amen
Quiet is so uncomfortable sometimes. az
