Solitude and silence are inseparable partners. In them, our souls stand on tip-toe, expectant, and ready to see and hear God. How at ease are you with silence? Can you imagine going a day without speaking, or driving to work with no radio or stereo accompaniment? What about going home in the evening and ignoring the television, perhaps sitting down for some time one-on-one with your mate, or cooking a meal in a quiet kitchen? Sometimes in the presence of one you love, and one who loves and treasures you, words are unnecessary. In fact, they can even become a distraction. The temptation to use them to manipulate or control is always with us, isn’t it?
But the discipline of solitude, paired with silence, teaches us the enormously difficult task of relinquishing control. We feel helpless and defenseless in silence...and before God, we are. When Job experienced his terrible suffering, he refused to curse or question God. His friends pontificated for days about what might be causing Job’s troubles, but Job said nothing. Then when his friends had finished talking, God spoke...and His words put the other speakers to shame. When He had finished, Job had this response: “Behold, I am insignificant; what can I reply to Thee?”
Silence and solitude enable us to surrender control (or the illusion of it), and learn instead to trust our Heavenly Father, who sees and knows all.
MEMORY VERSE
PSALM 62:1 My soul waits in silence for God only; from Him is my salvation.
READ THROUGH THE BIBLE
2 Chronicles 10; Jeremiah 1-2
