Hush, The Neighbors Are Sleeping

Have you ever been quiet for the neighbor's sake? Maybe you want to do something but the thing you want to do is loud and it is late at night so you refrain.

"For God alone, O my soul, wait in silence, for my hope is from him." - Psalm 62:5 ESV

"For thus said the Lord GOD, the Holy One of Israel, 'In returning and rest you shall be saved; in quietness and in trust shall be your strength.' But you were unwilling, and you said, 'No! We will flee upon horses'; therefore you shall flee away; and, 'We will ride upon swift steeds'; therefore your pursuers shall be swift. A thousand shall flee at the threat of one; at the threat of five you shall flee, till you are left like a flagstaff on the top of a mountain, like a signal on a hill. Therefore the LORD waits to be gracious to you, and therefore he exalts himself to show mercy to you. For the LORD is a God of justice; blessed are all those who wait for him." - Isaiah 30:15-18 ESV

Sometimes we quiet ourselves for our sake but this morning I am thinking about how we can respond to grace and enter into quietness for His sake.

Instead of staying here in quietness our minds can run away. We can run to fantasy and have our own little never never land. We flee away. The television becomes our noise or perhaps it is alcohol or lust of some kind. We chase the different scenarios around the living room of our mind. We make a ruckus with our 'should of's and 'could of's. We bang the drums of right and wrong. Perhaps it is a violin of self pity or maybe the hip hop of anger and self entitlement. We laugh loud to stave off the boredom. Instead of quiet purpose we run.

There is a place where God is waiting to be gracious. In quietness for His sake we find that place. A quietness in response to grace.

We might say, 'I need to turn this down because my neighbor is sleeping.'

On a spiritual level we say, 'I need to quiet down because God is resting in His Love. Is it right for me to panic so loudly? Is it really so good blare the sounds of my land of pretend when God is waiting right here to quietly speak to me?'

If is not a mindfulness born from demand. It is one born of grace, honor and love. He cares so we care. He has given favor because of His Son. We come under that favor and pass through the narrow space to find a wide open rest.

Hush now. Simmer down. What does the Bible say? Are we running or resting? Are we looking or leaving?

God is waiting to be gracious to us. He lifts Himself up to show mercy. He wants to speak to us in objectivity.

"Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life, and I shall dwell in the house of the LORD forever." - Psalm 23:6 ESV

If we run He will follow us and show us mercy when we have exhausted all our efforts but what if we just stay in quietness? If we rest then we will have the strength to rise early and seek Him at the appointed time.

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