L ast weekend I stayed in a hotel while I was speaking at a conference. And on the day I left the hotel to drive back home, I realized that I hadn’t turned on the television one time during my stay. In fact, I think it’s safe to say I relished the quiet. Because as much as I love it when life is lively, sometimes it all gets to be too much. Between the radio in the car and the ads that blare at me from my computer screen and the auto-play videos on social media—not to mention a job where on most days I talk or listen all day long—the absence of silence is sometimes so noticeable that I feel like it’s screaming at me.
Now, I know I can talk with the best of them. I love to have my office, my couch, and my table full of all my happy people sharing their lives with me. But Every once in a while, I’m done. I hit my extroverted limit and become the person in a corner who’s trying to crawl into the wall so that I can find just a minute to be quiet and think in complete sentences. In fact, there are days when I want to roll down the car window, look around at all the different sources of noise, and greet every single one of them with the loudest “Shhhhhhhh!” imaginable.
Or maybe make a suggestion that everyone in my immediate vicinity should play the quiet game.
As much as our culture seems to promote hustle and bustle and noise, however, it’s interesting to note that Scripture shows the value of quiet. We see the importance of being quiet and holding our tongue (Proverbs 17:28), the blessing of meditating on the law of God (Psalm 1:2), and the beauty of a quiet spirit (1 Peter 3:4). We know that even Jesus had to be by Himself every once in a while (Matthew 14:23).
So finding time to be quiet, to slow down, to block out the noise—it matters. And for me, setting aside thirty-ish minutes in the morning (after I make coffee, of course) to be still and quiet with God is essential to my sanity (and I’m pretty sure my husband and son would tell you it’s a game-changer in terms of my early morning mood). It’s a time when I read my devotional book, I read my Bible, I journal, and I pray. I once heard Beth Moore say that an early morning quiet time settles the authority for the day, and I believe it. For me it’s helpful to prioritize that time before distractions and interruptions enter the day.
But just to be clear: quiet times don’t have to happen in the mornings. I have several friends who say there’s just no way they can concentrate when it’s early. My own mama faithfully retired to her room about an hour before bed and had her quiet time then. What’s most important is that you’re consistently making an effort to spend time with God, and you’re putting yourself under the authority of His word every single day. You’re getting to know Him more every single day. You’re learning to love Him more every single day.
And the fact that your time together with God is quiet? Well, that’s just an extra measure of blessing when the world seems so very loud.
Set aside time for Him. Spend time with Him. Be still before Him.
Those quiet moments may very well be the most meaningful part of your day.
1. Do you ever feel like you’re surrounded by noise? How does it affect you? Does it energize or drain you?
2. If you had to spend an entire day in silence, what would your reaction be? How would you handle it? What would you do with the time?
3. Do you have a regular quiet time with the Lord? How does it impact your relationship with Him? And if you don’t have a regular quiet time, would you like to? What gets in your way?
4. Write out Habakkuk 2:20.
Today’s Prayer