There is a strange pressure in modern life.
We feel compelled to be productive at all times.
If we are sitting quietly, we wonder if we should be accomplishing something. If we are reading, we feel guilty for not writing. If we are writing, we feel guilty for not working. If we are resting, we feel guilty for almost everything else.
Somehow we've convinced ourselves that constant motion equals faithfulness.
Scripture offers a different perspective.
God often met His people in stillness.
Elijah heard the gentle whisper.
The psalmist spoke of being still and knowing that God is God.
Jesus Himself withdrew regularly to lonely places to pray.
Yet many of us approach quiet moments as obstacles to overcome rather than gifts to receive.
One of my favorite places is what I jokingly call my sanctum sanctorum. It isn't elaborate. Just a comfortable chair, a Bible, a notebook, and often an iced coffee nearby.
No audience.
No notifications.
No urgent deadlines.
Just space.
I have discovered that some truths arrive only when the noise subsides.
Sometimes the most productive thing a Christian can do is stop striving long enough to listen.
The world constantly asks for our attention.
God often waits for our availability.
Perhaps this week the best spiritual discipline isn't another study plan, another podcast, or another productivity system.
Perhaps it is fifteen minutes.
A chair.
An open Bible.
And enough silence to hear what has been there all along.
"For He hides me in His shelter in the day of trouble; He conceals me under the cover of His tent; He sets me high upon a rock." (Psalm 27:5, BSB)
The Lord has always known the value of a refuge.
Maybe we should spend more time in ours.
Comments
Post a Comment