Are You Missing the Gifts of Silence?

“For God alone, O my soul, wait in silence, for my hope is from him.” (Psalm 62:5 ESV)

We didn’t immediately notice the blinking clocks. The lights never flickered as the switches lay in the off position in the daylight. The silence was the first clue we had lost power. The hum of electronics and appliances ceased as the ice steadily coating tree limbs and power lines took its toll.

A late-season winter storm caused us three days without electricity. During a typical April, this would be no problem. We own a generator for just such occasions. This April, however, brought unseasonably cold temperatures. When my husband pulled the cord to start the generator, the rope snapped in his hands. With no heat or way to pump water from our well, we were in a tight spot.

Have you ever noticed the absence of something makes you appreciate it and think about it more? When my husband and I dated long distance in college, the adage “absence makes the heart grow fonder” proved correct. Likewise, we take clean water, heat, and electricity for granted until we lose them.

As I lay huddled under a mountain of blankets in footed pajamas on those cold power-free nights, I noticed how genuinely silent our house was. No humming refrigerator or water heater to lull me to sleep with white noise. I missed the click of the furnace turning on and steady blowing of warm air through the ducts.

I found myself uneasy in the silence. I prefer a low level of noise in my background. I fill many of my opportunities for quiet time with podcasts, audiobooks, or music. I find ambient noise helps the mundane in my day pass more quickly. As a mother of young children, I appreciate a quiet moment much more than I used to, yet being completely alone with only my thoughts and no outside noise makes me a bit uncomfortable.

While I laid in bed, my thoughts were anxious, but they eventually wandered to prayer. I tried to use the moment to focus on God and be with him in the silence. In full transparency, I admit that my focus quickly went from the Lord to my to-do list, as it often does. Time in silence isn’t one of my strengths, but it is a spiritual muscle I am working.

We adopted a family mission statement a few years ago: Huffords do hard things. You can hear my husband and me repeating this phrase as we encourage our children to persevere through difficult tasks. I say these words to myself when I face obstacles, from the minor to those requiring resolute determination.

We do hard things because significant benefits often accompany the challenging situations in life. Observing a time of silence takes work to cultivate, but it has so many gifts to offer us. Not only do we benefit from a quiet mind and spirit, but we gain time to commune with God with no distractions and listen for the voice of the Holy Spirit.

The three days without power were soon over. My days were once again filled with noise, but the gifts of silence stayed with me after our normalcy resumed. I am learning to sit with silence, even when it’s hard. The gifts God has for us in the hard things are undeniably worth the effort.

Do you find silence comfortable? Or does the lack of distraction make you cringe? Pray about your relationship with silence and ask God to reveal his purposes for quiet in your life.

Lord, you created all the fantastic sounds that fill our ears, and you created silence. Help us to embrace quiet moments as a time to grow in our relationship with you. Give us these times to silence for reflection and meditation on who you are and how you are working in the world. Equip us to use these times to recharge and remember we live for your glory alone. Amen.

Scripture for Reflection

Set a guard, O Lord, over my mouth; keep watch over the door of my lips! Do not let my heart incline to any evil, to busy myself with wicked deeds in company with men who work iniquity, and let me not eat of their delicacies! (Psalm 141: 3–4 ESV)

A time to tear, and a time to sew; a time to keep silence, and a time to speak. (Ecclesiastes 3:7 ESV)

Listen to me in silence, O coastlands; let the peoples renew their strength; let them approach, then let them speak; let us together draw near for judgment. (Isaiah 41:1 ESV)

Reach for More

Do you have a practice of silence and solitude in your spiritual walk? Silence can be uncomfortable when we start trying to incorporate it into our lives. The key is starting small and building our silence muscles. Set a timer for three minutes, find a quiet spot without distraction and try to sit in silence. If your mind tends to drift, try focusing on a centering word such as love, Jesus, peace, or God. Try not to judge your experience too harshly. Focus on getting a little better each day. Share your experiences with silence as a spiritual practice on social media with the hashtag #tgtreachformore.

Lindsay Hufford is a writer, slow marathoner, home educator and mediocre knitter. Her favorite things include books, kombucha, kitchen dancing, natural wellness, Jesus, and nachos. She spends days with her handsome hubby, three adorable kids, a flock of hens, a runaway peahen, wandering barn cat, and rescue dog. Lindsay shares ways to live simply and love extravagantly at www.lindsayhufford.com.

Photograph © Kate Williams, used with permission