New Year: Be Quiet

By Devin Dummel

If your house is anything like our house, then you likely share some of the same struggles we have.  With a four year old and a two year old constantly playing games, watching shoes, and being creative – our house is a fairly noisy place.  There are days where it feels like from the moment we got out of bed until the moment we tucked in their sweet little heads there has been constant noise.

What I find even more shocking than all the noise, is what typically happens when we finally turn off the lights and say goodnight to our kids.  The silence is some odd way even seems noisy.  Perhaps it’s because in a world where noise is everywhere, even silence can see deafening.

Maybe you have discovered this to be true in your life as well, that the trouble of a quiet room is a noisy mind.  When everything else is muted, it forces us to think, reflect, and examine what’s going on in our hearts and our heads.  And while we manage to fill that space with things like worry, want, and procrastination, what we need more than anything is quiet.

If you and I are going to make the most of this year and make it the best year it can possibly be for our families, one thing we must fight for in our homes and our lives is quiet.  What is quiet so important?  Well, there’s a story from the Old Testament that might help us.

Elijah was a prophet for God, and he did some very amazing things for God, but one day he felt like his life was being threatened.  He was scared and overwhelmed and he decided to run away from everything.  So Elijah found himself in the wilderness, praying desperate prayers to God.  And God chose to answer his prayer.

First Elijah was told to stand at the top of the mountain and God would pass by.  So Elijah made the hike and waited for God.  As he waited a hurricane like wind ripped through the mountains and shattered the rocks.  It was a powerful display but God was not in the wind.  Then there was an earthquake with shook the mountainside, but God wasn’t in the earthquake.  After the earthquake there was a huge fire, but although spectacular, God was not in the fire.  But following the fire there was a gentle and quiet whisper, and when Elijah heard it, he knew it was God. (1 Kings 19:11-13)

Quiet is essential for us, because it is where we are most likely to encounter God.  It’s in the silence, with nothing to distract us, where God often reveals Himself.  And while many of us look for God in the “big things” like Sunday morning, sermons, events, conferences, etc. – I believe you will find that God may be speaking directly to you in the small and quiet moments of your day.

We often feel like God is far off and we feel disconnected to Him.  But the truth is God is not distant.  He is right here with you, and wants to speak more and more truth into your life.  The question is, will you slow down enough and be quiet enough to listen.

This week, we want to ask you not just to make space and time for God.  We ask that you would find some quiet for Him in your life.  Turn off the TV.  Take out your headphones.  Ignore the honey do list, or the pile of paperwork.  Find just five minutes of quiet, and ask God to show up and speak to you –  we think you may be surprised at just how much He wants to share with you.