IT IS ALMOST 10:00, MONDAY NIGHT. The children are snoozing upstairs. Aside from a few outside noises—a passing car . . . a barking dog . . . a few, faint voices in the distance—all’s quiet on the home front. That wonderful, much-needed presence has again come for a visit—quietness. I recall when our children were little, how valuable times of silence were to both Cynthia and me.
One of my most poignant memories of quietness occurred in California when I was walking with a friend along the sandy shores at Carmel. The early dawn silence was broken only by the rolling surf and the cry of gulls soaring overhead. The thought I had then I often have now: I cannot be the man I should be without times of quietness.
Stillness is an essential part of our growing deeper—especially as we grow older.
In Mark’s gospel, we learn how Jesus displayed a daily commitment to the discipline of quietness:
Jesus said, “Let’s go off by ourselves to a quiet place and rest awhile.” He said this because there were so many people coming and going that Jesus and his apostles didn’t even have time to eat. So they left by boat for a quiet place, where they could be alone.
Jesus understood how busy they had been. He realized the importance of finding a quiet place. He knew the value of “alone” time. You and I need that too—a place and time each day when we withdraw from the frenzy of our lives and seek the Lord, open His Word, and simply sit and enjoy the silence.
May I remind you? That still, small voice will never shout. God’s volume doesn’t increase because we allow noise and activity to overrun our day. He desires to refresh you and encourage you, like a shepherd leading sheep beside still water (see Psalm 23). He will never barge in and make demands.
No, He’ll wait to meet with you.
Would you consider finding a quiet place today? How about tomorrow and the next day? Can you set aside twenty minutes to be alone with Jesus? You’ll be so glad you did.
Devotional content taken from Good Morning, Lord . . . Can We Talk? by Charles R. Swindoll. Copyright © 2018. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, a division of Tyndale House Ministries. All rights reserved. The full devotional can be purchased at tyndale.com.
Used with permission. All rights reserved.
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