The Power Of Silence

The LORD will fight for you, and you have only to be silent.

I worked at a women’s clothing store in college. Although I liked my coworkers and the flexible hours, doing the same tasks over and over could be monotonous.

But there is a certain grace to being alone with your thoughts. I could spend half an hour folding shirts or hanging a new shipment of clothes but secretly dreaming up alternate lives for myself. I imagined myself as the director of a nonprofit organization that threw fancy galas, or as a travel writer who visited far-flung locations. Though these may seem like idle thoughts, that time of silence allowed me to dream and sort out what was most important to me.

I no longer have that job, but I still find myself folding shirts or hanging up items at home, the whirling washer and humming refrigerator my only companions.

Sometimes, we have an uneasy relationship with silence. On hard days, it can feel heavy; being alone with our thoughts is uncomfortable. Even when life is good, it can be all too easy to fill the quiet spaces with podcasts, music, or the buzz of the television—when what our souls need is a healthy dose of stillness.

Words have power, but so does silence. In fact, just two minutes of it can help calm our bodies more than listening to relaxing music can, thanks to the way it decreases our blood pressure, among other things.^a Silence can help us sort through hurts or hard things, offer space for reflection, or give us room to breathe or plan or dream. It gives us the pause we need to think, lament, grieve, or identify the restlessness or discomfort inside us.

Yet silence is a gift we often overlook. We think that we must always be doing or saying something to be effective, but today’s Scripture reminds us that sometimes, we simply need to be silent. It can offer a holy pause, one the Spirit can fill. It can allow God to work in our hearts or minds. In that sense, silence can provide the grace and the space we need to connect with God and lean closer to him.

Kristin

Today’s Act of Gratitude

Spend five minutes sitting in silence. Reflect on this experience. Was it hard to be still that long? How did you feel afterward?