My Soul Waits In Silence

Our culture, our society today, is one of busyness. We tend to rush from one task to another, from this errand to that, making a pick-up, dropping something off, shopping here or there and in one way or another generally rushing about. It seems we have taken it upon ourselves to fill every moment of our days with activities. Because of this we often miss out on the quiet solitude, and inner reflection so very necessary in the recharging of our batteries.

We don’t do silence, quietness, or stillness very well, do we? Yet, time and time again we see our scripture remind us of the need for this very thing. Nehemiah – one of our Old Testament prophets – once commanded the Israelite people, “Be still, for this is a sacred day.” King David writes in Psalm 37, “Rest in the Lord, and wait patiently for him.”

One of the commonly used Hebrew verbs throughout our Old Testament is but three letters long (hsh) and it captures a sense of silence; it emphatically commands us to hush.

And too, from Psalm 62 we hear the words of stillness impressed upon us: “For God alone my soul waits in silence.” Stillness and silence are a theme seen quietly running throughout much of our scripture – Old Testament and New. It is a command given to us for a specific purpose – that we might draw closer to our Lord. That when God comes to us with something to say, with some type of guidance or direction in our lives that the busyness of our day, the frenetic activity we go about, does not get in the way of listening and responding to the Almighty.

This command is necessary for us, that we might learn to rely upon God more, and human strength and endeavor less. When we are still in the Lord, we acknowledge the strength and power of God as the place of refuge and ultimate security in the midst of trouble. He alone is my rock and my salvation, my fortress… Ultimately, we place ourselves in the capable hands of God’s care.