I am at the beach…
all by myself…
and all I can hear is the ocean. (written 10.12.12)
I am committed to 24 or more hours of silence in the next 36 hours. No phone, radio, TV – just silence, me, and Jesus.
My husband has our five kids, and after church he and a buddy took all the kids to McDonald’s.
He just called and I know when we hung up and said ‘good night’ he was not in silence:
“I want chocolate! Can I have TWO cheeseburgers? Dad!!!”
Nor will he wake up to silence tomorrow. But I will.
I could feel guilty. I could feel irresponsible or lazy, but I don’t.
Instead of feeling bad, I will listen, more than I did today, for what He has to say.
My husband sent me to my mom’s beach condo, to rest, relax, and be away from the noise of our lives.
I asked him to come, and he felt like it would put him more behind in his work, so he said, “You go. You can use the quiet.”
I received the gift. It’s nice to be away, and just be Jenny, and not have four or more people around me every moment.
Even more though, it’s a gift to simply BE.
My friend and I talked about the difference in DO-ing and BE-ing (last week when we met)..
We said this:
You can DO all the things of life – chores, conversations, ministry and just DO them – and even muster up energy and passion for them, and when you are DOing, it is you that dependence is placed upon, not Him.
OR
You can BE (still and know that He is God) and out of that energy and power and resting place, all the same DO will happen, and it will be energizing, rich in passion, deep in love, and it will not sap all the rest out of you, because it won’t be about you in any way – it will BE all about Him.
I think I’ve learned this truth, and yet, I fight it every day. Going back and forth, to and fro, tossing as the waves, changing my mind from DO to BE, from BE back to DO.
So, in this silence, I am at rest.
I will BE still.
I am placing my DO in the palms of the GREAT “I AM” so that in my refuge, and in the still small voice of God, I will simply BE.
How Silence Helps Me “BE”:
When I choose to BE still, I will truly know (and live as though) He is God, and I am not.
It is in the silence that I get to see His handiwork the most. When I see a sunrise or a sunset, there are no words to describe His handiwork. And, often in my daily life, I don’t stop to SEE, because I am too busy “figuring it all out”.
Is. 40:12
Who has measured the waters in the hollow of his hand,
or with the breadth of his hand marked off the heavens?
Who has held the dust of the earth in a basket,
or weighed the mountains on the scales
and the hills in a balance?
(add “not Jenny!!!!)
One of my favorite quotes is by J. Vernon McGhee:
“This is God’s universe, and God does things his way. You may have a better way, but you don’t have a universe.”
When I choose to BE, I stop trying so hard to DO, and I receive in full the value He already placed in me through His son Jesus.
Nothing I do, or don’t do, or try, or don’t try, will ever increase or decrease the love of Jesus in my life, or the favorable standing God already gave me at the cross. Nothing.
And, God calls me to more, and to live full-out for Him, and when I DO more out of my “BE”, it ends up being WAY more, because it has nothing to do with my efforts, strength, or power, and everything to do with His.
When I choose to BE, I hear him more clearly, and I stop coming up with my answers and outcomes.
I live like the birds or the air, and I trust more, and depend deeper, and I walk closer to my Jesus.
My mom prayed Isaiah 40 for me as a child. I refer back to it often, and I know the Lord has me rest there, so I will learn over and over:
Jenny, you are not responsible. I AM.
Jenny, you don’t have to take care of it. I AM already did.
Jenny, calm down my child. Be still. I AM is here.
Jenny, you are tired and weary. I AM will renew you.
Jenny, come fly with me. I AM has mighty wings and He will carry you.
Isaiah 40:28-31
Do you not know?
Have you not heard?
The Lord is the everlasting God,
the Creator of the ends of the earth.
He will not grow tired or weary,
and his understanding no one can fathom.
He gives strength to the weary
and increases the power of the weak.
Even youths grow tired and weary,
and young men stumble and fall;
but those who hope in the Lord
will renew their strength.
They will soar on wings like eagles;
they will run and not grow weary,
they will walk and not be faint.
COMMENTS shared are a gift!
What is the greatest gift of SILENCE in your life? Do you struggle being still? Why? or why not?
SHARE with those you love, especially friends that could use the quiet!