Psalm 46:10

Be Still

Be still, and know that I am God;
       I will be exalted among the nations,
       I will be exalted in the earth.

1 Kings 19:9-13

The Lord appears to Elijah

   And the word of the LORD came to him: "What are you doing here, Elijah?"

 10 He replied, "I have been very zealous for the LORD God Almighty. The Israelites have rejected your covenant, broken down your altars, and put your prophets to death with the sword. I am the only one left, and now they are trying to kill me too."

 11 The LORD said, "Go out and stand on the mountain in the presence of the LORD, for the LORD is about to pass by."
      Then a great and powerful wind tore the mountains apart and shattered the rocks before the LORD, but the LORD was not in the wind. After the wind there was an earthquake, but the LORD was not in the earthquake. 12 After the earthquake came a fire, but the LORD was not in the fire. And after the fire came a gentle whisper. 13 When Elijah heard it, he pulled his cloak over his face and went out and stood at the mouth of the cave.
      Then a voice said to him, "What are you doing here, Elijah?"

Silence – We live in a world were we are surrounded by noise; most of it of our own making. We create our own little bubble with the help of the TV, radio, MP3 player, YouTube, where nothing else gets in except our favourite songs, programs and videos. What would happen if we turned it off for a while? How would we cope with the silence?

Most of us are nervous about silence, it’s uncomfortable and, to be honest, a bit boring but is the real problem that we may have to contemplate ourselves, the world, God without props? Is our real fear that we will be exposed for who we really are?

But that’s the point.

Silence allows us to concentrate on God, to come before him just as we are and it gives us space to learn that who we really are is a unique person loved by God.

Try this …

Let go of who you were.

Accept who you are.

Pursue who you will be.

We can only ever keep God at arms length because he desires to be with us. Once we drop the defences, the distractions and invite him to spend time with us we can begin to learn about him, get to know him and relax in his presence.

He doesn’t need us but he chooses to be open to us.

We do need him. What is life without him?

Activity – put aside 10–15 minutes where you can just be alone with God. You may want to (you may need to) go somewhere away from others. Is there a place where you feel safe/relaxed/peaceful?

You may also want to take something to act as a focus (pebble, candle, everyday object) but you may be happier to sit and close your eyes.

When you are ready, get comfortable and begin by letting go of the things that are whirling around your mind.

Become aware of your surroundings. Why do you like this place?

Think about your focus. Why did you choose it?

Turn you thoughts towards God.

Invite him to join you.

Be with God.