If we step back from our busy lives for a moment of reflection we will start to hear a deafening silence. The ironic thing will be that it is truly the still silence that is so deafening. Everyone that I live in community with has struggled with a noisy, crazy, hectic schedule running from meeting to meeting, coffee to coffee, service to service.
Let’s come back to the opening sentence. Step back from your busy life for the few minutes that you read this and reflect. After you read this, take five minutes, and sit in silent solitude. No phones (texting, etc), no computer (AIM, MySpace, etc), no music, no XBox 360, no talking. Nothing but silence. If you haven’t experienced this in a while, the sound will be loud, and you’ll see what I mean.
In the book Facedown by Matt Redman, Bill Hybels, pastor of Willow Creek, asked, "Is the ambient noise level of my life low enough for me to hear the whispers of the Lord?"
A.W. Tozer once said, "In some instances, absolute silence might well become our greatest act of worship." I don’t believe the silence Tozer is talking about just happens in our worship service times. The worship service of life is where the rubber meets the road—what, how and why we do what we do in our daily life.
Everything in our culture is screaming at a DB level that is dulling our hearing to the Creator’s voice. When people come into worship on Sunday, let’s try to remember that life is fast and loud. It can be voluntary or involuntary, but our communities still live in the fast and loud. If we are living there as well, how can we lead them into the Holy place?
When I come into church, I need the music to help lead me to a place of silencing and help me to yield my world in order to seek God in everything. I think we know that God is everywhere and in everything, but how often do we live acknowledging that? We usually let our little worlds dictate our response to the Almighty.
In order to effectively lead people into worship of God, we must be clear to hear where He is leading us. We can’t always be clear to hear if we aren’t seeking Him in silence and solitude, waiting and listening. Application of a true “quiet time” or “silent time” is the only means of execution here. Writing, reading or doing will only delay the secret place that God is calling us to seek. He will be in the secret silent place. It probably looks differently for everyone. Let us all go there to hear and learn from the Father for His glory and fame.
