Reading 10—Silent Time
Psalm 62

READ PSALM 62

“My soul waits in silence.” When can silence be found in our noisy world? When is your time to wait in the refuge of silence to hear God’s word transform your very being? Our confidence in God’s power stands firm and the time of silence creates coherent order. We are not shaken by the noise of those who huff and puff, tossing their opinions into the sound of rushing wind. All their huffing and puffing is lighter than a breath. Noise is nothing.

“I’ll huff and I’ll puff and I’ll blow your house down.” Remember The Three Little Pigs? Their mama sent them into the world to seek their fortune. She gave them a warning. The wolf wants to eat you up. Off they went. The first piglet came upon a beautiful hay field and quickly built a house of straw. The second piglet came upon a forest of tall oak trees and quickly built a fence of sticks. They were very pleased with their good fortune. The third piglet came to a rock pile and began to build a house. They mocked the third piglet.

The piglets became prominent. The only plan of the wolf was to eat up those plump piglets. The wily wolf tells clever lies. Huffing and puffing is the wolf’s big super power. He easily terrified the piglets with his great noisy breath. The house of straw and the tottering fence blow down, two shaken piglets run to the house of solid rock. The mighty huffing and puffing breath has no power against solid rock. It is the refuge of silence that cannot be shaken by the huffing and puffing of mockery or malicious intent.

All day we are assailed and battered by noisy huffing and puffing, by the sound of nothing. Now is the time to take refuge in silence and listen. Listen to the silence, what do you hear? Again and again, “I have heard this: power belongs to God and steadfast love belongs to you, O Lord.” Silence is found when we listen.

To Consider

Where in your calendar would you schedule time to listen to silence?

What would you expect to hear when you listen to silence?

How would you describe what you actually heard?

God of Steadfast Love, when the huffing and puffing threatens and batters us, mercifully grant that we may be led to the refuge of silence so that we may hear that all power belongs to you, our Rock and our Salvation. Amen.

Margaret Ashby is a pastor who writes:  I love to discover what I didn’t know I didn’t know. I find ordinary daily life is very interesting, filled with silence. I love quiet times and places, the garden, the library, the church sanctuary. When I began to actually listen to silence, I was surprised to hear how deeply dimensional it is. Silence has height and depth; it takes up space and fills time. Who knew?