Trusting Us With Silence

We had some great people (Matt and Jessica) over tonight for dessert and coffee (and Kim's famous apple cider) and we got to sharing stories about life. As we shared with them the story of how God brought us to Lake Cities, we told them of the blog entry that was instrumental in God bringing us here. Check it out here.

I read the following a while ago and I thought I'd share it.

As I read Fenelon (he's talking about, Francois Fenelon, the French mystic of three hundred years ago) on silence, I was reminded of what Oswald Chambers wrote about thanking God when he “trusts us with silence.” Fenelon put great emphasis on the value of silence—not only environmental silence, but silence of the soul, stillness of the heart, and tranquility of the mind.

Fenelon writes, “Sometimes the annoyances that make you long for solitude are better for producing humility than the most complete solitude could be. Do not seek God as if he were far off in an ivory castle. He is found in the middle of the events of your everyday life.

“Listen to the voice of God in silence. Be willing to accept what he wants to show you. God will show you everything you need to know. Be faithful to come before him in silence. When you hear the still, small voice within, it is time to be silent.

“Try to practice silence as much as general courtesy permits. Silence encourages God’s presence, prevents harsh words, and causes you to be less likely to say something you will regret. Silence also helps you put space between you and the world. Out of the silence that you cultivate you will get strength to meet your needs.”

Most of us aren’t silent often enough. A chief executive officer of a large corporation attended a weekend retreat recently. He told me that his most meaningful experience of the retreat was the exercise of listening to someone for ten minutes—without saying anything. He realized how much he learned in that listening silence.

God trusts you with silence. Don't let him down.

{Smith, F., and Goetz, D. L. (1999). Vol. 5: Leading with integrity : Competence with Christian character. The pastor's soul series (40). Minneapolis, Minn.: Bethany House Publishers.}