Quietness

A Quiet Heart

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For thus saith the Lord God, the Holy One of Israel; In returning and rest shall ye be saved; in quietness and in confidence shall be your strength: and ye would not. Isaiah 30:15

This verse from Isaiah, was written to people who were in exile. They were far from their culture, family and roots. Though this might sound a lot like everyday life in New York, it actually referred to the kingdom of Israel. Instead of serving the God who had delivered them from Egypt, they had decided to build altars to all kinds of idols and had forsaken God. This occurred, not just for a decade or even a couple of generations, but for hundreds of years. Eventually God allowed the Assyrian empire to sweep in, conquer their land and carry most of the ruling class off into exile. It was almost as if God was said, “Okay so you want to serve foreign gods? Okay, so then you might as well and go live with other folks who already do!” But even as far as God’s people had gotten away from Him, He never abandoned them. In today’s verse He is calling for them to return home, if only in their hearts. The problem was not the Assyrians. The problem was their own stubborn hearts. Many of them liked what they were doing and instead of changing their minds about idolatry, they doubled down on their misbehavior and complained about their situation. Does that sound familiar? It should, because that describes most of us at one time or another in our lives. Our hearts have grown cold, and we have been carried far away from God. But God has not given up on us.

But how can we know that for sure? Well, think about where Jesus was sent to live. Sure, everybody knows that He was born in Bethlehem, but He didn’t stay long. Instead, Jesus grew up in Nazareth of Galilee. And where was Galilee? It was exactly where the remnants of the people who had been conquered by Assyria lived. Matthew’s gospel tells us about why by quoting from the Old Testament prophet Isaiah, “The people dwelling in darkness have seen a great light.” Now that picture of dwelling in darkness is exactly like many of our lives. We are busier than we have ever been, but in spite of all the comforts and pleasures that swirl about us, we are a community, a state, a nation and a world in turmoil. With the answer to almost any question at our fingertips we have no more peace and quiet than we had a hundred, two hundred or even two thousand years ago. We desperately need to find rest, and God is, calling out for us to come to Him to find it.  But just like those ancient Israelites, we often just keep running away. The answer to our problem is not by some idyllic lake, at the top of a mountain climb or on the deck of a cruise ship. The only true and eternal quietness is in the presence of Jesus Christ and He offer it for free!

Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. Not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your hearts be troubled, neither let them be afraid. John 14:27 ESV

A Weaned Child

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Surely I have behaved and quieted myself, as a child that is weaned of his mother: my soul is even as a weaned child. Psalm 131:2 KJV

Rest has gotten such a bad name in our culture that we place our next order at Walmart while we are cooking, check our email during our children’s soccer game and take phone calls at the beach from customers. We never seem to be able to find a quiet place of rest. But having a hard time with quietness isn’t something new. Thousands of years ago King David had the same struggle. Imagine growing up with six brothers treating you like a servant, fighting Goliath and then dodging spears that King Saul is throwing your way. That is definitely far from a quiet life!

Photo by Andrey Grushnikov on Pexels.com

But in the middle of unexpected circumstances, God taught him the secret of quietness and David tells us that it was like being weaned. See, Babies are used to milk. Milk is sweet and easy and when babies get hungry they cry, demanding mom comply immediately by giving them a feeding. No baby wakes up hoping for a spoon full of pureed spinach! The only way a child is going to eat solid food is if he or she gets hungry enough to accept something new. Usually by the time a baby gets ready for that first bite they are so worn out from crying that in a moment of quietness they accept what mom gives them. Sound familiar? Is God changing up the menu in your life with unexpected or even bitter circumstances? Are sweet and familiar things around you disappearing faster than lawn chairs in a tornado? The good news is that even in a tornado, if we will quiet our soul like a weaned child, God has something far better than milk prepared for us. He has sent for us Jesus, the fresh Bread from Heaven as our comforter and His Holy Word for our Sunday meal!

Silence of Worship Part 2

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Psalm 105:4 Look to the Lord and His strength; seek His face always

On Sunday the worship team did a wonderful job and when one of the leaders broke out into praise in Spanish I almost felt like I was back at our old home church where our praise alternated between English and Portuguese. But if you were following this conversation yesterday you know that we did not look at corporate praise as wonderful as that is but instead at the first two of four different kinds of silent worship in Psalm 105. While these are unseen, they are not less important than playing singing, blowing trumpets and dancing, which were all accepted forms of public praise in the Old Testament. The invisible parts of our worship life are like the roots that support trees and keep them alive and growing even through the quiet dormant seasons of the year. So this morning let’s dive into the second pairing of how we worship without words.

Look to the Lord and His strength When we come to worship the first thing we must notice is not the décor of the sanctuary, the outfits of the worship team or the appearance of the person next to us. What we need to see is invisible and that is The Lord and His strength. That is because as Corrie Ten Boom once said,

“If you look at the world, you’ll be distressed. If you look within, you’ll be depressed. If you look at God you’ll be at rest.”

Worship must begin from a place at rest. Everything around us wants to take away the rest Jesus offers and replace it with some form of urgency. Our minds fill with ideas of this or that which must be done tomorrow, physical pain in our body reminds us of our human frailty or hurtful memories clamor for attention like spoiled children at a candy counter. But if just for a moment we first look to the Lord, immediately the strength of His arms will hold us and we will find rest in His presence.

To seek His face always! – When I was small I would run to my mother whenever I fell down for her comfort and if needed wait while she put a put bandage on my knee. But once mom had doctored my hurt, I ran back to my play. But seeking the face of God always means more than just experiencing His healing touch. He calls us to come and sit down beside Him, learn His plans for the day and then walk with Him every step of the way. He doesn’t want us to just seek His face when we fall down but at every moment and always!

Today I close with one of my favorite hymns sung by Tricia Brock: Jesus I am Resting Resting written by the Irish missionary Jean Pigott in 1876

Jesus I am resting resting in the joy of what Thou art

I am finding our the greatness of Thy Loving heart