Be Silent

      Silence.  Some crave for a silent moment.  Noise is everywhere with the noise of children or the annoying, consistent, nonsense coming from a co-worker.  The streets are loud with horns and rushing traffic.  Oh! to be able to find a quiet spot.  Then, there are those who wish for some noise.  The one stuck at home during a pandemic, the one recovering from an illness, or the single retiree missing the noise and considering the empty house too quiet.  We need people whether with the noise or without, but we also need the Lord and time with our Lord in silence.

     The definition of silence is quiet, still, hush, tranquility, and peace.  So, being alone for many days is not true silence if there is no tranquility and peace.  I believe we all have an inner spirit which spurs our desire for silence.  I find that silence at sunrise.  It doesn't matter where I am; I love waking up before sunrise to see the beautiful colors and enjoy the silence before the world wakes up.  A walk alone on the beach, sitting on a balcony overlooking a mountain view, or sitting on the swing on my front porch fills my spirit with the beauty of the stillness of the morning.  In this magical hour, I call out to my God who gives peace and strength for the rush of the rest of the day.  

     I'm reading Zechariah which is a prophesy of end times.  As I read chapter 2, verse 13, I'm reminded of how much I miss those moments of silence.  I had been babysitting from last August through April.  I still woke up and had my devotional time, but everything was in a hurry.  I let myself get wrapped up in the rush, the disturbing political bickering, and the crazy of the pandemic, so the silence slipped away from me.  I have a journal of notes and research from my Bible study, and I have many lists of prayer needs, but the silence slipped away.  It wasn't because my house was too quiet, but it is because I let other things crowd my mind.  This scripture stopped me to consider what I need to do.

"Be silent, all flesh, before the Lord, for He is aroused from His holy habitation!”    Zechariah 2:13

     To find this silence, I need to clear and remove all distractions separating me from God.  Yesterday was day one.  I'm getting that silence back.  It comes with searching my heart and repentance of the sins separating me from my God.  I'm reminded of David's prayer in Psalms 51.  This is my prayer as I am still in the silence of the morning before the world wakes up.

7Purge me with hyssop, and I shall be clean;
wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow.
8Let me hear joy and gladness;
let the bones that you have broken rejoice.
9Hide your face from my sins,
and blot out all my iniquities.
10Create in me a clean heart, O God,
and renew a right spirit within me.
11Cast me not away from your presence,
and take not your Holy Spirit from me.
12Restore to me the joy of your salvation,
and uphold me with a willing spirit.

(Psalms 51:7-13 ESV)

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