The Exercise of Silence

“Be still and know that I am God” (Psalm 46:10).

I’m working on something. This morning I tried being silent. If you know me, you know that’s rare. For an extrovert preacher to be silent, talk about using those never used before muscles! My mom used to quote Proverbs to me saying, “Aaron, in the multitude of words, sin is not lacking.” That was her quiet, wise way of telling me I was talking too much.

So this morning, I decided just to listen. Listen for every sound and write down every sound I heard. I did this for about an hour as I did chores, walked around the property, and sat at times on the front porch.

Here’s what I heard:

Goats. Cars on my road. Kita (our dog) panting. Various birds I couldn’t identify. Fork hitting someone’s plate. Crickets. Blue jay flying over. My feet walking in the grass. Leaves rustling because of the wind. My ears ringing. A very fast delivery truck racing down our road. Someone sniffed and then sneezed (it is spring here in Southeast Texas!). Front door opening and closing. My wife, Anna, coming out saying, “Hey Aaron.” She had a quick question. Cardinal (the state bird of my home state of Indiana). Our ducks, chickens and turkeys making various noises as I moved their pens to get fresh grass. The sound of those pens moving along the thick, tough-as-nails Texas grass. The sound of the happy ducks playing in the fresh water I put in their little tub. Purple martins calling and chirping as they flew to and from their little houses on our property. A rooster crowed. A hen clucking because she’s laying an egg. The rocking chair I’m sitting in and the sound it makes as I rock. The sound of a car driving up our driveway. It was our great friend and brother in Christ, Jarvis, who was dropping off his sweet children for Lindsay to babysit them. As Jarvis drove away, he said out his window, “Have a good day, brother!” I said, “Love you!” He replied, “Love you!” with a thumbs up (Yes I know I spoke and broke the silence. Couldn’t help it!). The sound of the kids playing, laughing, pretending, and being silly. The sound of my phone not ringing because I put it on airplane mode. One of the kids practicing piano. The kids goofing off in the yard. Mockingbird. Neighbor’s dog. Moose the cat meowing and coming up to get a pet.

I was just amazed at this list afterwards when I read it out loud to my wife, Anna.

What are the benefits of being silent?

Let me ask this. Does the Bible address the benefits of exercising our silence muscle? Yes!

The Israelites had been delivered from Egypt, yet they found themselves pinned against the Red Sea. Behind them stormed the Egyptians who came down in their chariots to attack them. They cried out to Moses and to God wondering why Moses brought them out to die like this. Moses told them to be “silent” (still), and to see the salvation of God (Exodus 14). Their silence allowed them to be still and see God’s mighty power. God with his mighty hand saved the Israelites through the Red Sea as they walked through on dry land. The Israelites then watched God use the same water to bring His wrath down upon the Egyptians. After this exercise in silence, the people burst forth in praise, glorifying God (see Exodus 15). The time of being still preceded God’s mighty work which was quickly followed by great noises of celebration in recognition of God’s power.

Zechariah, the father of John the Baptist, was miraculously silenced by God. When Gabriel the angel was sent to tell Zechariah the good news of their son’s supernatural birth, he did not believe Gabriel. So, God made him be quiet for 9 months. It was not until after John was born, and during the naming ceremony that Zechariah’s tongue was loosed. What was the first thing out of his mouth? Praise and glorification of God! He was forced to shut up for 40 weeks. Remember, Zechariah was a priest. That means he was a teacher, a judge and an example for the people of Israel. I just wonder what sounds he heard for 9 months as he had this exercise of silence thrust upon him. What did he learn? He learned to trust God, even when he couldn’t see how it would happen. He learned to glorify God even when all he had were questions and doubts (Luke 1).

Habakkuk was completely overwhelmed with the wickedness of his people. He cried out for God to do something about it. God answered with, “Okay, I’m going to send the Babylonians.” That was a real faith struggle for Habakkuk. How could God allow people more wicked to come and punish His people? God told him to “live by faith.” He also told Habakkuk to be silent. “The Lord is in His holy temple. Let all the earth keep silence before Him” (Habakkuk 2:4,20). After the exercise of silence, after Habakkuk had “heard” of God’s power, then he burst forth with praise and glory to God. He also committed to trust God and rejoice in Him, no matter what happened (Habakkuk 3). This exercise of silence preceded the demonstration of God’s power and glory, which led to a simple trusting faith that broke out in praise.

Back to the sounds I heard this morning. What did I hear?

I heard the sound of my best friend and companion in life, Anna, who loves me and walks beside me in life. Remember what God said, “He who finds a wife finds a good thing and obtains favor from the Lord”? I heard the sounds of children being children. Remember what Jesus said about children? I heard the sound of dear friends who walk with the same Lord. Friends who love me, accept me and are there for me no matter what. I heard the sounds of God’s music: the mockingbird, the cardinal, etc. God loves music, and He designed us that way too. I heard others around me expressing that love for music at the piano. I heard the power of God’s creation in the wind. I was reminded of how Jesus compared the Holy Spirit’s working to the wind. I heard the sounds of animals, life, beauty. I heard through these things that God provides for His creatures. Our loving God provides food, love, beauty, friendship, music, comfort, deliverance, and on and on it goes.

You know I learned a lot by hushing! My exercise of silence opened my heart to see the power of God and the amazing beauty of His creation. I heard His love for me through the people He put in my life.

You know what was funny? As I was searching images for “listen,” almost 100 percent of the first two pages of images were of people with earbuds or other headphones. That is our modern way to “listen.” But God wants us to take time to listen to what He did, what He created, what He gave us. No earbuds needed. No cell phone service needed. No unlimited data necessary. Just use your ears and listen. God is teaching if you stop to listen. If you have ears to hear.

“Be still and know that I am God” (Psalm 46:10).