September 1, Silence

Today’s reading: Psalms 1-5

“Tremble and do not sin; when you are on your beds,
search your hearts and be silent” - Psalm 4:4.

Today’s’ verse does not contain the words of David, but rather the words of God. David prayed and God answered with His response, advising not only David but also His people to be silent and search their hearts. Yet in this busy world, it is difficult to take some time to think, reflect, and allow God to speak to you. In fact, you can become addicted to the activity, frantically racing from event to event because you are afraid of what the silence will bring. Will you hear from the Lord? Will you be missing out on something else more important? Will the silence reveal some major deficiency in your life or walk? Jesus understood the importance of silence as Luke reported: “But Jesus often withdrew to lonely places and prayed” (Luke 5:16). When is the last time you took some time off to be alone and think or pray? Why don’t you do more of that? Are you afraid? What are you afraid of? Lord, I am too busy. My busy-ness keeps me from engaging You on a personal basis. I have substituted church attendance and listening to others talk about You for actually listening to You for myself and that’s wrong. Forgive me!