Silence and Solitude

“For God alone my soul waits in silence; from him comes my salvation. He only is my rock and my salvation, my fortress; I shall not be greatly shaken.” – Psalm 62:1-2

In my journey of learning what Sabbath is and what it will look like in my life, I have seen the importance of silence and solitude. These things are important for the growth of our relationship with the Lord.

I am currently reading Richard Foster’s Prayer, and it has been a blessing. In his chapter about formation prayer, he speaks to the importance of solitude in our life with the Lord. It is in this time of solitude that “our false, busy selves are unmasked and seen for the imposters they truly are.” In other words, when all the noise is gone, and we are left alone with the Lord, we can no longer live behind the masks we create for ourselves in the effort to hide our true selves. All of who we are – our hopes, fears, anxieties, insecurities and sins – are laid bare before us and the Lord and we are given the task of dealing with them with Him.

This is a key element in our growth in Christ. We need those times of fellowship with our brothers and sisters; we need to hear the Word of God proclaimed; we need to participate in the body of Christ as we seek to live out our lives for Him. But there is also a very personal aspect to our relationship with God that can only be worked out in those moments of silence before Him. In the passage I quoted above, the psalmist is speaking of a silence of the soul that does not fret as it waits for the Lord. He alone is our fortress, or stronghold, our salvation. Standing alone before Him, practicing that silence in a tangible way, makes it real and strengthens the soul.

The Spirit will minister to us in a way He will not otherwise when we allow ourselves to stand in His presence, laying all things bear to Him, so that He can work in us. And so, the balance must be struck between the formation we need in community and the formation we need in intimate fellowship alone with our Lord.

In my own journey, I am finding that I must find times when I can be alone and silent before the Lord. I am by nature an introvert, and love alone time, so the idea of this does not scare me. But the question for me is how am I using that time? Is it being used to draw closer to God? To search the web? To paint my nails? Now, none of these things are wrong, but I question sometimes if I am setting aside time alone that is for the Lord, and not just for myself. And so, as I ponder my Sabbath practice, I must find ways of being deliberate about spending focused time before the Lord to hear from Him.

 

What is Greatness?

A speaker at a luncheon honoring the Dr. Martin Luther King has caused me to ponder this question. Dr. King is quoted as saying “Anyone can be great, because anyone can serve.” And indeed, our Lord Himself spoke the words “The greatest among you shall be the least.” In the Kingdom of Heaven, the least are the greatest, and the greatest are the least. That is, we cannot determine “greatness” in the Kingdom of Heaven by what the world calls great. God determines “greatness”, and it does not look as we think it ought.

Think of King David. He was the smallest and the youngest. When Samuel arrived at Jesse’s doorstep he was not even presented as a potential king. He was out tending the sheep. Imagine what he smelled like when he arrived in the room! And yet, he was the one whom God had chosen; the one whom God said had a heart after His own. His throne shall stand forever, because it is through his line that Messiah has come and will come again to establish His kingdom.

And speaking of Messiah, consider how He entered this world. In a smelly stable, born of a virgin as a helpless baby. No fanfare. A birth in the midst of farm animals. He refused to establish His kingdom with arms and force; His kingdom is “not of this world” as He explained to Pontius Pilate. He ushered in His kingdom by serving us – by living in perfect obedience to the Father and dying for our inability to, rising again so that we might have eternal life with Him. And such is the love that we are to display to one another.

So, what is greatness? It is not what we think of as greatness. On the backdrop of my previous post about the Bears, it seems fitting to speak of such a thing. We consider professional athletes as “great” – and we cheer them on to victory (and I cheer LOUDLY folks!). But what of those in our society that are not talented athletes, or super performers, or millionaires or the like? What I am speaking of is truly countercultural – I am not seeking to disparage these who receive so much attention because of their athletic ability, musical talent, or business acumen. I am simply stating that there is a different way of viewing the worth of individuals, and even of thinking of what greatness really is.

Greatness is not measured by how many people know your name; or how much money you have; or how many accolades you accumulate. That which we do in the name of Christ is what shall stand. So when we consider what we live for or what we define as “greatness”, let us not think of “greatness” at all, unless we are thinking on the greatness of our Lord Jesus Christ, our great and awesome God – that is true greatness. Let us seek to live in light of that greatness, and seek to serve that greatness…for this is what holds true meaning. This is what will last.