It was a very normal day until I realized that I was actively destroying my own soul.
The day began with waking up for another day of exploring the city. I woke up to check smses on my phone. I stepped into the shower where I was thinking where to go, what to see. I then went to the computer to read my emails and reply them; check on Facebook and update my blog while I did some quick research on the Internet on places visited or to visit.
Throughout the day my family and I were running here and there, catching trains and trams, following maps and guides, clicking pictures and taking in the sights and sounds of the cities and in between walks, finding the little space we had to talk a little more deeply or to catch up with our souls in reflection.
As I drifted off to sleep, it dawned on me that I have not really been diligent in finding real time margin of silence and solitude for real deep reflections and I realized, that I could not live the rest of my life without ever again experiencing silence.
To top it all, at lunch yesterday, my daughter just had enough and said she really needed the space to just sit by a cafe with coffee and cake and do nothing but think. I felt a double dose of the message that I felt my soul was already resounding to me.
I don't know whether it is pressure of maximizing a holiday or what, sometimes we can go on trips and totally neglect our souls. That is why I had been so diligent in updating my Facebook and blog. At least it gives me an opportunity to come home to the inner sanctum of my heart where I sense God and His Presence.
This morning I sat a while by myself and reflected on the words of missionary martyr Jim Elliot, who said, “I think the devil has made it his business to monopolize on three elements: noise, hurry, crowds . . . Satan is quite aware of the power of silence.”
I began to ponder what Jesus’ life might be like if He lived today. Would He be available to all of His followers twenty-four hours a day on His mobile? Would He have left His phone on at the Last Supper and been continually interrupted by needless calls? Would He have failed to stop and speak to needy people because their weeping was not loud enough for Him to hear over His iPod on his ears as He hurried past them on His way to a meeting He was already late for?
In that moment I prayed, asking God for His wisdom and help to save me from myself. I was reminded that Jesus often took periods of prayerful silence to hear from the Father and to ensure not that He was doing everything He could, but that He was doing only what was most important. For example, before beginning His public ministry, Jesus spent forty days fasting from food, people, and noise in an effort to prepare Himself to fully accomplish what God the Father had given Him to do on the earth.
Moreover, the Bible says in Luke 5:16 that “Jesus often withdrew to lonely places.” Jesus spent considerable time alone in silence to pray, rest, and focus on what priorities He should be devoting His time and energy to. This helps to explain why, in just three short years of ministry, Jesus had a greater impact on history than anyone else who has ever lived.
The Bible also describes multiple benefits of purposeful silence and solitude, including:
* hearing from God (1 Kings 19:11–13)
* waiting patiently for the Lord to act (Lamentations 3:25–28)
* worshiping God (Habakkuk 2:20)
* knowing God better (Psalm 46:10)
* praying effectively (Luke 5:16)
Whether it is back to the busy life in Singapore which I am returning to in another four days, or a family vacation in Europe with the excitement of new places and peoples. I need to carve out margin for silence and solitude, for reflection and review, to listen to God, to write in my journal, and sometimes doing nothing at all, like what my daughter wanted to do, sit in a cafe and just do nothing, which becomes an act of faith that God is at work even when I am not.
My prayer is that those reading this who, like me, are guilty of noise addiction can also experience the regular gift of silence because that is often where God is waiting for us. There was silence before God spoke the world into existence, and silence for forty days before Jesus began His public ministry, which may indicate that silence is what allows us to speak as God intends. And in those silences we build depth into our otherwise shallow lives.
