Thought for Today
Psalm 4:4 When you are disturbed, do not sin; ponder it on your beds, and be silent.
Ecclesiastes 3:7 a time to tear, and a time to sew; a time to keep silence, and a time to speak;
Mark 6:31 Come away to a deserted place all by yourselves and rest a while." For many were coming and going, and they had no leisure even to eat.
Luke 5:15 But now more than ever the word about Jesus spread abroad; many crowds would gather to hear him and to be cured of their diseases. 16 But he would withdraw to deserted places and pray.
I began writing and sharing these Thoughts on March 14, 2020. We had just voted to suspend worshiping in person due to the pandemic. Originally, these were meant merely to be a vehicle for communicating with the congregation I served at that time. In the intervening four years, writing and sharing these Thoughts have become an integral part of my devotional routine. Six days each week, I sit down at my computer each morning and write what is on my mind that day. I have missed very few days.
Yesterday, the title of the devotional in These Days was “God Invites Us to Silence.” I believe God does, in fact, sometimes invite us to silence. So, I have decided to go silent for a few days. I will turn off my computer, silence my cell phone, shut off my iPad and at least go electronically silent. Of course, in our modern world, we cannot ever be completely silent electronically. My congregation will still be able to contact me in an emergency, but as much as possible, I will be “off the grid.”
Silence can be a positive experience, or it can be a negative experience. Years ago, when I worked as an engineer, I encountered the phrase “thundering silence.” Most of us have experienced “thundering silence.” As a manager, I quickly learned that if I asked a question which I knew the recipient did not want to answer, I could patiently sit, letting the silence ‘thunder,’ until that recipient awkwardly filled that “thundering silence.” It proved an effective tool for eliciting information.
But, there are other, much more uplifting times when silence ‘thunders.’ During those first months of the pandemic, Greta and I would often sit on our patio and relish the silence. Especially those first few weeks, there was no ‘white noise’ from the traffic on the interstate just a few blocks away. There were no cars on the streets. There were no planes in the sky. That “thundering silence” was only occasionally interrupted by the music of the songbirds frolicking in the trees, or by the sound of children laughing in play.
Jesus understood the therapeutic value of silence. When the crowds became too much, “he would withdraw to deserted places and pray.” When his disciples returned from their mission journey, he told them “Come away to a deserted place all by yourselves and rest a while." Deserted places are a bit scarce in my world. There are still such places on our planet, just none that I plan to visit soon.
All of us have the option to create our own ‘deserted places,’ in the electronic sense by turning off all of our devices. Every computer, every cell phone, every tablet device has a way to ‘power down,’ to turn off. I plan to use those ‘off buttons.’
Yesterday’s These Days ended with “Extended silence is necessary to still our minds, our hearts, and our souls. Extended silence invites us to pour out to God all we have to say and then gives us space to truly listen and hear God. Silence is a gift for the beloved children of God!” That is true of auditory silence; and it is equally true of electronic silence. For a few days, I will be electronically silent. Only for a few!!
Stay safe, listen for the sound of silence, trust God,
Pastor Ray