Into the Quiet

Settle yourself in solitude and you will come upon Him [God] in yourself
– Teresa of Avila

The world we live in is one that is full of noise. We wake up to alarms and are immediately confronted with sounds of email, voicemail, text messages, and news alerts, all with corresponding pings or chimes. We all know what it is to hear that sound and reflexively reach for our smartphone as if we have no choice but to immediately attend to the latest alert. In this digital age we have lost our ability to unplug, disconnect, and just be quiet.

So, the invitation this week is that we journey together into the quiet…into silence. The goal of silence is not merely to escape the noise, but rather to become able to hear from the Lord. If you are brave enough to join me in this pursuit, you will soon find that when you turn off your devices, you will then be confronted with all the noise from within you that has been drowned out by the devices. You will hear the anxiety, the many narratives you have been telling yourself or have been told by others, and of course all the expectations that you feel. Once you bring yourself to leave those at the foot of the cross and trust them to Jesus, then you will be ready to listen. You see, in the quiet, we first must get through the external noise and internal noise before we can really hear the whisper of God.

It is my hope that you will plan to set aside some time to be silent this week. What I would suggest is to set aside an amount of time each day to be still and quiet before the Lord. Don’t try to do a whole day of silence if you are not in the practice of being still and quiet, but rather try to set aside 10 minutes or perhaps 15 minutes each day at the same time. Look at this time as a gift to yourself when you can say no to everything and just be still. I would ask that you come to this time with the expectation that God will meet you in the quiet if you are truly seeking Him. So come ready to lay down your cares and listen to the Lord.

I would also suggest that you have a journal or pad of paper on which you can write the distractions that you need to leave with the Lord or take up later. Write them down and then as quickly as possible, return your heart and mind to the quiet.

In addition, I want to encourage you to write down any verses, phrases, or pictures that the Lord may bring to your mind. Write them down and then make them matters of prayer to test and see what the Lord may be saying to you.

I look forward to hearing what you learn about yourself and the Lord as you join me on the journey into the quiet.

Father Keith

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