Be Quiet
Quiet, very few days are quiet around here (especially lately with some major tree trimming). The sky is clear blue and a soft breeze tickles limbs with green shoots appearing. In Florida, spring is underway.
A theme I find in various places throughout the Bible is: quiet. God calling the prophets to ‘listen or hear’, David in the sanctuary communing with God, Jesus rising early before the noise of the day to talk with the Father.
When you have children in the house, quiet is seldom found. When rushing off to work is how the days tumble into each other, quiet is often illusive. Still, the example of the Savior: “Very early the next morning before daylight, Jesus got up and went to a place where He could be alone and pray.” (Mark 1:35 CEV)
I’m able to do that these days – early, just before dawn. I wasn’t always able to – and sometimes didn’t want to leave the comfort of a few more minutes of sleep. But if we’re truthful, all of us from the mom with three under the age of four, to those who early commute to work – can find five minutes at some point to shut the door and sit with God.
At one point during Jesus’ ministry on earth, He gathered His disciples and sent them out in twos to preach the good news and to bring healing to many. When they returned and told Him all they had been able to accomplish, more and more people came to them. But Jesus knew what they all needed: “Come with Me by yourselves to a quiet place and get some rest.” (Mark 6:31b NIV)
There’s an open invitation to us from the Savior to do the same thing with God every day, every moment. Through His sacrifice for us, He made a way for us to – at any given time – ‘come away to a quiet place and find rest’.
David, who knew a lot about sheep, and probably saw similarities in us humans, penned the most famous Psalm of all. The first three verses are how a shepherd cares for his sheep. Sheep that are not calm cause themselves much trouble. They worry themselves and injure themselves.
Yes, we are like sheep then. But our Shepherd, our Messiah, does the same for us as David the shepherd did for his sheep: “The Lord is my shepherd, I shall lack nothing. He makes me lie down in green pastures, He leads me beside quiet waters, He restores my soul.” (Psalm 23:1-3a NIV) Be quiet – you need His rest.
parisrenae 
It’s much easier for me to find quiet in these empty nest days than when I had little ones in the house. But I still need to be intentional about using the quiet for good purposes. Thanks for sharing this encouraging word.
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Lately I am finding such a sweetness in the word “Come”. Jesus extends to us an invitation every day to “come” to Him and there truly is no better place to go to be restored, renewed, and strengthened. Thank you for this encouraging reminder!
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Yes, love that too – I’ll listen for His invitation of ‘Come’ more closely. Blessings as you rest in the Savior…
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I appreciate this truth, Paris, “There’s an open invitation to us from the Savior to ‘come away to a quiet place and find rest’.”
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Yes, and doesn’t that sound good – blessings as you come away from the noise and find His quiet.
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