In The Quiet

There is a song that I have been thinking of lately by Sonic Flood. The lyrics start off:

In the secret

in the quiet place

in the stillness

you are there

in the secret

in the quiet hour i wait

only for you

cause, i want to know you more

It’s been rolling inside my mind for a few days and as I was thinking it occurred to me to ponder where is the quiet? Where do we go to find the quiet. My favorite place is near the water, particularly the Great Lakes or the ocean. I can sit for hours just watching the water, it ministers to my soul. The past few years I have not been able to travel due to health concerns and it made me think; what do we do when we can’t go to a physical place for quiet?

Our society is so “do” oriented, it’s as if the busier we are the more we consider our lives worthwhile. Wait, how can that perspective have become so ingrained? It’s actually the exact opposite of what Jesus taught us! He said “Be still and know that I am God”(Psalm 46:10). Psalm 105:4 says “Seek the Lord and his strength; seek his face continually.” God. Jeremiah 29:13 says “You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all of your heart.” All of these verses and so many others point to us being face to face with God in relationship. He gives us a clear example in Scripture over and over; even Jesus went off to solitary places to seek God’s face. So how do we do this when life doesn’t permit us to run off to some geographical place, or when day to day family or work demands bog us down? This is when we need the quiet place the most!

As I was considering this I started thinking about how in Jewish tradition, covering their head allows them to set themselves aside to seek God. How using a tallit (prayer shawl) serves as a sign of humility, respect, and reverence before God. The kippah (skullcap) and tallit are worn during prayer and other religious ceremonies to express awe and acknowledge the divine presence. It’s as if by covering their head they are creating their own quiet place and acknowledging their need for relationship with God. Jewish culture also talks a great deal about being under the fig tree. It was a place people could go to have privacy and to seek God, it was a quiet place.

How do we find this quiet place in our fast paced society? I believe that we in fact have it much easier than most people realize. When God sent us the Holy Spirit He gave us the quiet place to live within us. We don’t have to be on vacation, wear something or do something.. we simply need to stop. We need to take time, be still and quiet the noise. God didn’t design us to live in frantic activity. He designed us to walk with Him in the garden of relationship. When your life seems to be battered by storms of activity and challenges I encourage you to be still. Stop trying to figure out how to fix things and overcome the storm, rest in the quiet place and you will find peace.