First Comes Silence

*I love this picture of AE. I've been looking at it for the past few days and thought that in a roundabout way, it relates to today's topic!

How do we teach our children to be guided by God? First we ourselves must be guided by Him. Working on our own walk with Him is vital. How many times have I heard this? Start with self. Sounds counter intuitive, doesn't it? Going through my notes from Mom's Club in March, I found some things I was "too busy" to study. This is the beginning of Mary's lesson on Silence and Solitude: How God Speaks.

In order to hear God's voice, we must surround ourselves with silence. Ha! In a house with two toddlers and one crazy dog, silence is hard to come by. But think about when your house is silent. Mine is right now. Nap time. Mine will be tonight at 7:30. Bedtime. AND it could be silent all the way until 7:30 next morning. Seek out the silence as a time to listen. Why? Because God speaks in a still, small voice. 

Zephaniah 1:7 tells us to "be silent before the Sovereign Lord." Listen for those times when you just NEED TO STAY HOME. Right now there is a lot of talk in the blog-o-sphere from moms who are trying to keep their kids busy. To keep them active. To keep them out of the house. Which in the end will result in lots of car time, not quiet time. Oh, moms need to have some plans and we've got ourselves a plan for the summer, but I hate the idea that so many moms don't want to be at home with their children. I'm not talking about moms who work, but about moms who are stay-at-home moms who run at a breakneck speed just to "get it all in" or "stay busy." Talk to me about this again in five years! I may change my opinion. Ha!

Think of it this way: we are guests of God. Right here. In our own homes. With our family as the party people. With all the food we need. All under our own roof. We aren't inviting God; He's inviting us. 

Exodus 14:10-14 tells us "the Lord will fight for you; you need only be still." Sometimes we don't want to be silent because it opens us up to the things that are our enemies: self-doubt, fear, stress, sadness, disappointment, distrust and anger. Although we may not want the silence, it is necessary to hear God and to allow Him to carry you through. 

Here's an example: Elijah goes into a "cave" to hear the Lord. First Elijah tries to find God in the wind, an earthquake and then fire, but then God does not appear through any of those powerful forces. He speaks to him in a whisper. And Elijah can hear Him and His still, small voice. Here is the exchange in   1 Kings 19:9-13 from The Message:

He got up, ate and drank his fill, and set out. Nourished by that meal, he walked forty days and nights, all the way to the mountain of God, to Horeb. When he got there, he crawled into a cave and went to sleep.

Then the word of God came to him: "So Elijah, what are you doing here?"

"I've been working my heart out for the God-of-the-Angel-Armies," said Elijah. "The people of Israel have abandoned your covenant, destroyed the places of worship, and murdered your prophets. I'm the only one left, and now they're trying to kill me."

Then he was told, "Go, stand on the mountain at attention before God. God will pass by."

A hurricane wind ripped through the mountains and shattered the rocks before God, but God wasn't to be found in the wind; after the wind an earthquake, but God wasn't in the earthquake; and after the earthquake fire, but God wasn't in the fire; and after the fire a gentle and quiet whisper.

When Elijah heard the quiet voice, he muffled his face with his great cloak, went to the mouth of the cave, and stood there. A quiet voice asked, "So Elijah, now tell me, what are you doing here?" Elijah said it again, "I've been working my heart out for God, the God-of-the-Angel-Armies, because the people of Israel have abandoned your covenant, destroyed your places of worship, and murdered your prophets. I'm the only one left, and now they're trying to kill me."

This exchange gives me the reassurance I need to know in my heart of hearts that when God is speaking, I need only be still. I need only look for His quiet ways. He won't yell. He won't scold. He will speak to me. He will. 

Tomorrow comes solitude.