Entering Into Sacred Silence:

Hearing the Voice of the Lord

            If any of you are like me, you sometimes feel like you don't have enough time to "get away from it all" and have some peace and quiet!  I know I certainly feel this way from time to time.  There's something about that quiet time, that silence that's so essential, so necessary for living not just a good life, but a holy life, a life of purpose and meaning, a life pleasing to God and personally fulfilling.  Ultimately, there seems to be something "rejuvenating" about those moments of silence in our lives- it gives us energy, nourishes our souls, and makes us more able to discern and respond to God's voice and activity in our lives.  Have you heard His voice lately? 

            Let's be honest here: the facts of our normal, everyday lives are obvious: we are continually bombarded with more and more "things to do" and we might even say to our selves, "Well, if I don't do it, it won't get done!  Somebody's got to do it!"  The truth is that we are slaves to perpetual activity and perpetual noise.  We are people of the "To Do" list.  We can't sit still for too long without fidgeting, waiting for whatever comes next.  We hate the "in-betweens" of life, those awkward moments where we are uncertain of what to say or what to do.  Why is this?  Partly, I think we've been socialized to be this way.  We've been trained to multiply words to no end and engage in pointless conversations about the weather, for instance, to no effect other than to fill up the "awkward silence" that would otherwise exist if we were not speaking.  Try standing in an elevator with several other people; if nobody's talking, the first person off can't wait to leave- "On to the next thing!"  Those moments of "awkward silence" in life are excruciating, probably because they are perceived as lifeless, uncomfortable, stale, and perhaps ultimately boring.  But this is our vision, not God's vision.  God's vision of silence is an altogether different vision than ours.

            The quote I have at the top of this blog page is very important for us.  It's a quote I like very much and remember being captivated by when I first read it: "The Father spoke one Word, which was His Son, and this Word He speaks always in eternal silence, and in silence must it be heard by the soul."  Thank you, Saint John of the Cross!  What a profound statement!  Indeed, God has a different vision of silence than we do.  God's vision of silence is one in which the moments of silence in our lives is "pregnant" with life, with love, with beauty, with truth, with goodness- its potential to speak to us is limitless, and its power to impact us is astounding. 

            I am captivated by the story of Samuel in the Temple (cf. 1 Samuel 3:1-10), particularly because of Samuel's eventual response to the mysterious voice he heard calling him- "Speak, Lord, for Your servant is listening."  Too often we may want to turn that around and say, "Listen, Lord, for Your servant is speaking!"  If we take on this attitude, we have failed to listen to the God who speaks to us in silence.  It is God who must speak to us, and we who must listen.  After all, we have one mouth but two ears….does this tell us anything?!  When we're not saying anything, when we enter into silence, God can better speak to us and likewise, we can better listen to His voice.  I am also captivated by the story of Elijah on Mount Horeb (cf. 1 Kings 19:9-13).  Elijah sees a strong and heavy wind, an earthquake, and fire- but in none of these was the Lord to be found.  Elijah ultimately encounters God in "a tiny whispering sound"- this, and not in those other impressive sights, is where God was found- in the silence, through a whisper. 

            And so it is with the stories of our lives.  How can God possibly speak to you, and how can you possibly hear Him above the deafening roar of the busyness of life?  He longs to speak to you in the stillness of your heart, in the quiet moments of your life.  He wants to speak to us in the very depths of our being and say, "Be still and know that I am God." (cf. Psalm 46:11).  Have you heard His voice lately?  How have you responded?  What must change in your life in order for your relationship with God to grow stronger, more alive?  What do you find consumes most of your time and your peace?  Where is God in the midst of that?  Do you make enough time in your life for silence and reflection?  Invite God into the busyness of your life.  Ask Him to transform those moments of "awkward silence" in your life into moments of peace, moments of life, and moments of grace.  Open your heart to the God who longs to speak to you.  If you do this, you will know peace, you will know life, and you will know a grace that can transform your life.  Have you heard His voice lately?  Open your heart to Him, for He speaks to you in silence.  Listen to His voice with the ear of your heart, in silence.  Be still and know that He is God.

~ Noah J.